Vishwa Mohan Archive
Thursday, July 7, 2016
Sunday, February 14, 2016
Floriculture moves from dormancy to infancy in India
Flower fascination: India set to be floriculture trade leader
Vishwa Mohan\TNN
NEW DELHI: India's share in global floriculture trade may not be significant but the country has, of late, shown enough potential to eventually turn itself as a favourite destination of flower importers in near future.
Surprisingly, the small land-holding pattern, considered a handicap for the country's agricultural production, comes as an advantage in floriculture due to its 'low volume high value' character. Since the sector has huge export potential, a number of small and marginal farmers have started turning towards flower production.
Increasing domestic demand for both cut and loose flowers has also attracted farmers, mainly in leading flower producing states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, towards floriculture.
The northeastern states, especially Mizoram, have also turned towards cultivating flowers of export varieties in a big way.
Though the country had during 2014-15 exported floriculture products worth over Rs 460 crore, its overall share is quite low in the global trade of nearly USD 40 billion or nearly Rs 2,72,000 crore.
"There is a great demand for Indian flowers in Gulf countries. Besides the major cut flowers, the export of traditional flowers such as jasmine and marigold is also gaining momentum in recent times," said A K Singh, managing director of the agriculture ministry's National Horticulture Board (NHB).
Explaining how floriculture in the country moved from "dormancy to infancy", backed by growing domestic demand and policy support from the government, Singh said, "The country is bestowed with ideal temperature conditions for commercial floriculture throughout the year in some or other part. This has helped entrepreneurs and growers in recognising diversification into floriculture as of a commercial value."
Floriculture in India is viewed as a high growth industry and the government has already identified this sector as a sunrise industry, according it 100% export-oriented status.
Though major export destination of Indian cut flowers (flowers harvested in clusters or in single along with their stems) were the USA, UK, Germany, Netherlands and UAE during 2014-15, loose flowers (flowers harvested without stalk) like jasmines and marigold are generally exported to Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore and West Asian countries. China, India and Peru are leading producers and exporters of marigold.
The annual world trade in marigold is currently estimated to be around Rs 500 crore.
Singh said, "In recent times, flower importers have been shifting their focus to India and Ethiopia for cheaper flowers in the wake of rising cost of production in Kenya - the world's largest exporter."
Quoting reports from the Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest), he said, "India could overtake Kenya in floriculture in the near future."
The NHB managing director has reasons to believe the KenInvest reports as he enlisted a number of factors which are conducive for the floriculture sector to grow substantially in future.
"The traditional disadvantage associated with the 'small farm holding' is an advantage in floriculture ventures. Even non-arable land can be put to agricultural use since protected floriculture involves specific growing media or amendment of the existing soil," said Singh.
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Road to Paris: Most of the rich nations submitted their INDCs by March 31 deadline .... World is now waiting for climate action plans of Japan, Canada, Australia, China and India
USA, Russia announce emission cuts ahead of Paris meet
Vishwa Mohan,TNN | Apr 2, 2015, 03.51AM IST
USA, the biggest historical polluter of the world, on Tuesday committed to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28% below its 2005 levels by 2025 while Russia promised to reduce its emissions by 25-30% from 1990 levels by 2030.Text resize:
NEW DELHI: USA and Russia have joined the league of countries who have declared their commitments to a climate action plan to cut post-2020 greenhouse gas emissions. Though the duo's promises do not hold any surprises, the move will now turn world's attention towards big emerging economies like China and India.
USA, the biggest historical polluter of the world, on Tuesday committed to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28% below its 2005 levels by 2025 while Russia promised to reduce its emissions by 25-30% from 1990 levels by 2030.
By submitting their plans (known as Intended Nationally Determined Contributions in climate change parlance), the US and Russia have joined 32 other countries including Switzerland, European Union (EU), Norway, Mexico and Gabon who have, so far, submitted their post-2020 climate action plans to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
These INDCs will form the basis of the climate negotiations in Paris in December when the world is expected to come out with a global climate deal.
Although the US met the deadline of March 31 for submitting its INDC, its promises drew a lot of criticism here for not being ambitious as environmentalists pointed out that the country merely repeated what it had promised in November last year.
Experts of the Delhi-based think-tank, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said the US target was "neither fair nor ambitious, and way short of what is needed to keep global warming under 2 degree centigrade".
They noted that the GHG emissions of the US, under its present promise, will be 5 billion tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) in 2025. Its per capita emissions would be 14 tonne CO2e in 2025. In comparison, India's total emissions will be about 4 billion tonne and its per capita emissions will be less than even three tonne in 2025.
"All estimates show that to meet the 2°C target, the US emissions should be at least 50-60% below 1990 levels considering its historical responsibility of causing climate change and its present capability of solving it", said Chandra Bhushan, deputy director general of the CSE.
The US, however, considers its action as a real momentum on the road to reaching a successful climate agreement in Paris. An official statement of the country said the US target would "roughly double the pace of carbon pollution reduction in the United States from 1.2% per year on average during the 2005-2020 period to 2.3-2.8% per year on average between 2020 and 2025".
Though China too had indicated its broader plan in November last year when it talked about peaking its greenhouse gas emission around 2030, India had made it clear that the country - which has very low per-capita emission - would not announce its peaking year and rather lay greater emphasis on its adaptation measures and increasing share of renewable energy in the country's total energy mix.
India is, meanwhile, preparing its INDC. Though the country was initially expected to submit its plan in June, officials here are not willing to commit on any time-frame. Even the environment and climate change minister Prakash Javadekar did not prefer to commit on any timeline when he was asked by TOI a few days ago about India's plan. He had said that India was preparing its INDCs and it would submit it "well in time".
It is expected that all the countries will submit their 'climate action plans' before October 1 so that a final synthesis report can be prepared by the UNFCCC before the beginning of the Paris climate talks.
USA, the biggest historical polluter of the world, on Tuesday committed to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28% below its 2005 levels by 2025 while Russia promised to reduce its emissions by 25-30% from 1990 levels by 2030.
By submitting their plans (known as Intended Nationally Determined Contributions in climate change parlance), the US and Russia have joined 32 other countries including Switzerland, European Union (EU), Norway, Mexico and Gabon who have, so far, submitted their post-2020 climate action plans to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
These INDCs will form the basis of the climate negotiations in Paris in December when the world is expected to come out with a global climate deal.
Although the US met the deadline of March 31 for submitting its INDC, its promises drew a lot of criticism here for not being ambitious as environmentalists pointed out that the country merely repeated what it had promised in November last year.
Experts of the Delhi-based think-tank, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said the US target was "neither fair nor ambitious, and way short of what is needed to keep global warming under 2 degree centigrade".
They noted that the GHG emissions of the US, under its present promise, will be 5 billion tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) in 2025. Its per capita emissions would be 14 tonne CO2e in 2025. In comparison, India's total emissions will be about 4 billion tonne and its per capita emissions will be less than even three tonne in 2025.
"All estimates show that to meet the 2°C target, the US emissions should be at least 50-60% below 1990 levels considering its historical responsibility of causing climate change and its present capability of solving it", said Chandra Bhushan, deputy director general of the CSE.
The US, however, considers its action as a real momentum on the road to reaching a successful climate agreement in Paris. An official statement of the country said the US target would "roughly double the pace of carbon pollution reduction in the United States from 1.2% per year on average during the 2005-2020 period to 2.3-2.8% per year on average between 2020 and 2025".
Though China too had indicated its broader plan in November last year when it talked about peaking its greenhouse gas emission around 2030, India had made it clear that the country - which has very low per-capita emission - would not announce its peaking year and rather lay greater emphasis on its adaptation measures and increasing share of renewable energy in the country's total energy mix.
India is, meanwhile, preparing its INDC. Though the country was initially expected to submit its plan in June, officials here are not willing to commit on any time-frame. Even the environment and climate change minister Prakash Javadekar did not prefer to commit on any timeline when he was asked by TOI a few days ago about India's plan. He had said that India was preparing its INDCs and it would submit it "well in time".
It is expected that all the countries will submit their 'climate action plans' before October 1 so that a final synthesis report can be prepared by the UNFCCC before the beginning of the Paris climate talks.
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Efforts to clean Ganga are much needed, but other rivers too need care and attention
CPCB report sounds SOS on river pollution
No. of polluted river stretches increased from 150 to 302 in five years
Vishwa Mohan | TNN , March 26, 2015
Vishwa Mohan |
New Delhi: |
At a time when the country's national river Ganga has caught the attention of policymakers, a new report of India's key pollution watchdog -Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) -has noted that the number of polluted river stretches in the country increased from 150 to 302 in the past over five years, indicating how other rivers too are victims of constant neglect.
A total of 532 townscities fall along the polluted stretches of different rivers across the country . In comparison, the Ganga river basin states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal have 118 such stretches.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi will review the Centre's action plan to rejuvenate the river Ganga in a highlevel meeting on Thursday , he and his Cabinet colleagues including water resources minister Uma Bharti can hardly afford to ignore the crisis facing other rivers.
It is expected that Modi, exofficio chairman of the Nation al Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA), would try to de iver a message across the nation about other rivers as well. Although the meeting on Thursday is meant to review the `Namami Gange' schemes of the government, the Centre is keen to replicate the best practices of Ganga rejuvenation plan to clean up other rivers of the country in due course.
Chief ministers of Uttarakhand, UP , Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal are expected to attend the meeting in their capacities as members of the NGRBA that has been monitoring planning and execution of all schemes relating to Ganga rejuvenation.
The CPCB report, submitted to the environment ministry last month, shows that Maharashtra continues to have the dubious distinction of having the maximum number of polluted river stretches. The polluted river stretches in the state has increased from 28 in 2009 to 49 in 2015. Maharashtra also has the maximum number of townscities located along polluted river stretches.
The polluted stretches are dentified by the CPCB through constant monitoring of water quality in rivers across the coun ry. It is based on the BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) levels n water that shows the extent of organic and bacterial contamination.
Recent findings which high ighted how more than two hirds of the sewage generated n 118 towns -located in the Ganga river basin -get discharged into the country's na ional river `untreated' have caused widespread concern.The Centre has asked five states o furnish their action plans to set up and modernize sewage reatment plants (STPs) within 15 days or face legal action for non-compliance.
“The National Mission on Clean Ganga (NMCG) has directed 118 municipalitiesurban local bodies in UP , Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand and West-Bengal and 687 industrial units in these states to furnish action plans directly to the concerned State Program Management Group (SPMGs) in the respective state,“ said an official statement of the water resources ministry .
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
37,000 MLD of untreated water flows into different rivers of India ...... Water Pollution
37,000 million litres of sewage flows into rivers daily
Vishwa Mohan,TNN | Mar 23, 2015, 05.22AM IST
The water pollution scenario in India can be mapped by the findings of the country's key pollution watchdog - Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) - which in its recent report noted that nearly 37,000 million liters per day (MLD) of 'untreated' sewage water flows into rivers across the country.
The report, submitted to the environment ministry last month, said that though the sewage treatment capacity in the country was augmented over the years, the wide gap between sewage generation (57,000 MLD) and treatment capacity (20,358 MLD) kept polluting water resources - be it river water or groundwater.
While municipal waste water is the prime cause of increasing water pollution, flow of untreated industrial waste water into rivers is not far behind.
As many as 302 river stretches on 275 rivers across the country have got polluted due to discharge of both municipal and industrial waste water over the years.
At a time when the government is focusing more on Ganga and Yamuna, the issue of polluted river stretches on other rivers appear to have been pushed to the backburner. Though the government has time and again said that it was equally serious about pollution in other rivers, nothing much has been done on the ground beyond the two northern rivers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to focus on this 'gap' when he chairs a meeting of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) on March 26. Though the agenda of the meeting will revolve around Modi's pet project of 'Namami Gange' that is aimed to rejuvenate the Ganga in a time-bound manner, he may ask officials of water resources and environment ministries to focus on other rivers as well in a coordinated manner.
"Obviously, the model of Ganga rejuvenation will be replicated elsewhere in due course, keeping in mind the topographical factors. The Ganga has caught attention of policymakers because 45% of the country's population depends on this river for livelihood and well-being", said an official, defending the current focus.
It is noted that more that than two-third of the sewage generated in 118 towns, located along Ganga, get discharged into the river untreated. The CPCB report pointed out that these towns collectively generate over 3,636 MLD of sewage as against the treatment capacity of approximately 1,027 MLD of the existing 55 sewage treatment plants (STPs) in these towns/cities spread over five states.
Nationwide, there are 606 STPs having a cumulative treatment capacity of around 20,358 MLD. Analyzing the water quality data of all the rivers across the country, the CPCB report highlighted that the country has as many as 302 polluted river stretches on 275 small and big rivers. It also noted that there are 650 towns located along those stretches.
Incidentally, majority of those polluted river stretches are in non-Ganga river basin states. There are 48 polluted river stretches in Ganga river basin in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal as against 254 in non-Ganga river basins in rest of the country.
As far as number of town/cities in those basins along polluted river stretches is concerned, 118 towns are located in the Ganga river basin as against 532 towns in other parts of the country. However population-wise, it is the river Ganga basin which alone supports 45% of the people living in the country.
Monday, March 23, 2015
Interview of Prakash Javadekar on Climate Change and India's action path
Al Gore showed climate’s ‘Inconvenient Truth’ – PM Modi offers convenient path: Prakash Javadekar
Prakash Javadekar is India’s environment, forests and climate change minister. With momentum for Paris’s climate negotiations building and India facing heat over pollution, Javadekar spoke with Vishwa Mohan about India’s comparative emissions, its leadership role, what developed countries must commit to – and PM Modi’s suggested methods to tackle climate change:
Won’t India’s poor track record in urban air pollution weaken its wicket in negotiating a fair climate deal in Paris?
No. India is certainly not on a weak wicket. We are only contributing 4% to the world’s current level of emissions. Carbon stocked in the atmosphere is 150 years old – our contribution is nothing. Even our per capita emission is quite low, at nearly 1.9 tons.
Though USA’s emission is declining, China’s continues to rise. Per capita emissions of China and USA will converge at around 12 tons in 2030 – we will never reach that stage.
The world’s already warmed since the pre-industrialisation phase. We are not responsible for this. We were never a player there.
Now, we are growing. We need to grow to eradicate poverty – however, we will never cross the world average.
What actions is India taking to move onto a low carbon growth path?
We have planned for 1,75,000 MW of renewable energy by 2022 – it is the biggest contribution from an emerging economy.
In fact, developed countries need to act and take ambitious targets for 2015-20. They have not done anything for the second commitment period of the Kyoto protocol. They must submit their ambitious plans. They must prepare for the pre-2020 period.
Our plan will also be reflected in our Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) – but before the world discusses our INDCs, we will discuss their pre-2020 action plan.
Will India present its INDCs by June as expected?
We’ll give these in time. Our commitment is real. We’ll take our own action and network with other countries. We are sure that in the Paris accord, we will play a pivotal role in bringing the world together for a fair climate deal.
But isn’t there pressure on India to produce substantial action plans ahead of Paris?
You must remember what Prime Minister Narendra Modi said about climate change when he was asked about any such pressure – he said we were not in a habit of taking pressure.
But, he said, the pressure is of future generations. I think that sums it up. If Al Gore is known for presenting the world an ‘Inconvenient Truth’, here is a prime minister who’s put before the world, based on his hands-on experience in Gujarat, the convenient action path.
Is it possible to follow Narendra Modi’s ‘Zero defect, zero effect’ model when India lacks strict anti-pollution measures?
Taking action to deal with climate change is the prime minister’s top priority. It’s an article of faith.
Therefore, he’s come out with ‘Zero defect, zero effect’ – he wants to make products in India with zero defects, so these can be sold all over and be competitive.
But this will be done through ‘zero effect’ on the environment, so we can care for our mother earth.
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Interview of Union minister of environment, forests and climate change Prakash Javadekar on air pollution
Fresh air calls for polio-like drive, says Prakash Javadekar
March 21, 2015
You say "fresh air is the birth right" of every individual. What is your ministry actually doing to provide clean air to citizens?
I have not announced 'fresh air is my birth right' on the spur of moment. It is my commitment. It will be a campaign which I want to launch to make people aware and realize the importance of fresh air. It will act as a pressure from people on the policy-makers and implementers. We can make laws as the central government but implementation rests with the state governments and the municipal corporations. We want to change life of people. But it cannot happen in a day. We want to go ahead to make 'fresh air' in cities a benchmark. That is the principle on which we want to build the whole edifice of pollution control.
There has hardly been any visible concrete action on the ground to reduce air pollution. What's the hope for Delhi and other Indian cities?
Our country has hundreds of laws which have not been implemented. In western countries, lawmaking is a difficult process. But once it's made, the job is done—there will be compliance. We are missing compliance in India.
We have five laws on environment, including on water, air, forests and wildlife. But these are hardly followed. I have been told that my ministry can issue directions, but it cannot do anything if those orders are not followed. The Centre can only close the polluting units. But this is not the real starting point. You must have more powers. We want to change the law to give more teeth to all those enabling provisions. We will build capacities of civic bodies so that we can mitigate the challenges presented by worsening air.
What specific actions have you planned for Delhi to deal with air pollution?
We have had three meetings with the Delhi government. It has presented us short-term and longterm plans. Under the short-term plan, there are vehicle management, vehicle maintenance, pollution under control (PUC) norms, stringent source-specific emission standards for air polluting industries and thermal power plants, and their compliance.
Vehicular pollution needs to be tackled seriously. Though Delhi has CNG vehicle norms, more than 10,000 buses still don't run on CNG. Besides, other vehicles also enter Delhi. As a long-term measure, there is also an issue whether India must leapfrog to Euro VI fuel norms to improve air quality (Delhi and 12 other cities now adhere to Euro IV norms while the rest of India is on Euro III). Strengthening of public transport system also comes under the longterm measures.
What's your opinion on leapfrogging to Euro VI?
It is not about my opinion. There are different ministries (petroleum and transport) which need to look into it. There is an issue of technical possibility. But, every action has a cost and we need to calibrate it.
What are the other issues which need to be tackled in Delhi?
There is an issue of post-harvest burning of stubble in villages in neighbouring Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh that leads to air pollution. Other cities too face the similar problem after harvest of Rabi (April) and Kharif crops (October or November). Earlier, farmers used to cut crops by hand and give or use the leftovers as fodder. But now they use mechanical harvesters which leave long stubbles in the field. These stubbles are disposed of by burning and it pollutes the air. We need to use an alternative technology like using it for power generation. Besides, we also need to tell people about the health hazards of such activities.
There is also an issue of dust coming from Rajasthan. Mechanized road cleaning system is being used. Besides, construction dust is a big problem. Construction work will continue as we are growing. Delhi Metro has handled the issue quite effectively. We need to implement similar standards for constructions in all sectors, including housing and roads.
Who all are implementing these measures in Delhi or in other state capitals and million-plus cities?
The state governments and the municipal corporations have to work. The Centre will make them work. We are partners. We will help them build capacities. We are working with other departments like science and technology to map out problems and come out with solutions.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on April 6 launch air quality index for all 66 cities (Delhi, state capitals and million-plus cities). It will be based on the constant monitoring of air quality. This will give a description of air quality in any city for any particular station or location. This 'one number-one code-one colour' description of air quality will map out more than five parameters (PM 2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, Ozone, ammonia and lead).
A sustained campaign like 'Poliofree India' is needed. We have to tell people about the importance of fresh air. It will be a public-private partnership campaign to create awareness. We will also ask public sector companies to support such a campaign in a particular state or city.
Coal-based power plants are also polluting the air. Will the inefficient plants be allowed to run? Is it not desirable to shut down such plants which pollute both air and water?
We need to ensure that the coal-based plants work efficiently. There are many plants which emit less. But, many others pollute much more. The power ministry is in the process of phasing out some old plants. Issues of coal transportation and mining of coal in a scientific manner using the best technology are also being looked into. We will have a comprehensive meeting with the ministries of coal and power after the Budget session. We want to arrive at a solution.
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