For the first time India is investing more in solar than coal
India is home to the world's second largest population and uses more and more power as it grows in size and wealth. It's also the third largest national contributor to greenhouse gasses, after China and the U.S. This tells us that whatever is happening in India matters on a global Read More...
IKEA launches new collection made of leftover rice straw to reduce smog in India
Once the rice is harvested in India, the straw is commonly burnt by small-scale rural farmers to make way for the new crop. This smoke contributes to the smog peaks that cause numerous health problems for the population of northern India, where nine out of 10 of the world's most polluted cities are Read More...
Kids in Indian town pay their tuition fees with plastic waste instead of money
Used plastic is usually seen as a waste product, but for the students of a school in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, it is no less than a means to acquire free education. As a way to make school more accessible and help clean up their local community, the primary school of Akshar began to Read More...
For the first time in years, cubs have been born in India’s “Tiger state”
The Indian state of Madhya Pradesh was once known as the “Tiger state”, but sadly it has lost its reputation over the years due to dwindling numbers of the big cat. The main problem is that poaching is still rampant in the region, and Tigers haven’t been birthing new cubs. Now, for the Read More...
A battery-swapping scheme is electrifying rickshaws in India
In India, where fewer than four million cars are sold annually, auto rickshaws (called tuk-tuks in other Asian countries) are one of the dominant modes of transportation. As India attempts to clean up the country’s troublesome air pollution, some manufacturers are now, for the first time, Read More...
Nearly three-quarters of new power capacity in India came from renewables
Of all the power generation capacity that India added to its grid in 2018, 74 percent of that capacity was based on renewable energies. Not that this is a new record for India in terms of new capacity addition, but it also shows just how committed the country is towards transitioning to 100 percent Read More...
India cancels 14 huge coal-fired power stations as solar energy hits record low
India has canceled plans to build nearly 14 gigawatts of coal-fired power stations – about the same as the total amount in the UK – with the price for solar electricity “free falling” to levels once considered impossible. Analyst Tim Buckley said the shift away from the dirtiest fossil fuel Read More...
Home loans in India help families excluded from formal banking system escape poverty
Informal workers make up more than four fifth of India’s labor force. Many struggle to make ends meet. For them, poverty typically perpetuates since banks don’t invest in poor people living off an informal income. Exclusion from home loans means being forever at the mercy of landowners in the Read More...
Indian game developer wants to help kids fall in love with math
Education games are taking off in India, providing teachers and students with cheap, effective tools to support, and in some cases accelerate, the learning curve. One example is startup Logic Roots. It just raised $400,000 from investors for its math app Mathaly, which is currently designed for Read More...
India’s Prime Minister launches first national air pollution index
Thirteen of the dirtiest 20 cities worldwide are in India, with New Delhi holding the undesirable title of the world’s most polluted city, according to the most recent data from the World Health Organization (WHO). Prime Minister Narendra Modi acknowledged this much this week, and even urged his Read More...