Under direction of Union Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister the Central Electricity Authority, Ministry of Power has prepared the guideline for the Cyber Security in Power sector, and it has been released. The guideline lays down required actions for cyber security preparedness across various utilities in power sector to raise the level of cyber security preparedness for power sector. It lays down a cyber assurance framework, the strengthens the regulatory framework, puts in place mechanisms for security threat early warning, vulnerability management and response to security threats, securing remote operations and services, protection and resilience of critical information infrastructure, reducing cyber supply chain risks, encouraging use of open standards, promotion of research and development in cyber security, human resource development in the domain of Cyber Security, Developing effective public private partnerships and information sharing and cooperation.

Tata Power and IIT Delhi have signed an MoU to collaborate in areas like smart grid technology, clean energy solutions. Considering the large number of experts with their excellence in different fields in IIT Delhi and Tata Power, there is an immense potential to collaborate between academia, research, and domain experts from business with a high transformational impact. Both the institutions have agreed to work together to identify projects that can be transformed from R&D stage to pilot projects and scaling in areas such as EV infrastructure, Artificial Intelligence, machine learning, hydrogen technologies, battery energy storage systems, monitoring and sensing solutions, microgrids, et al.

Amidst the growing energy needs and changing global climate landscape, the Government of India has identified new areas to achieve higher levels of penetration of Renewable energy by proposing certain Amendments to Energy Conservation Act, 2001. The objective will be to enhance demand for renewable energy at the end- use sectors such as Industry, buildings, transport etc. Ministry of Power has prepared amendments, after consultations with stakeholders. The proposal includes defining minimum share of renewable energy in the overall consumption by the industrial units or any establishment. There will be provision to incentivize efforts on using clean energy sources by means of carbon saving certificate.

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Scheme for Flexibility in Generation and Scheduling of Thermal/Hydro Power Stations through bundling with Renewable Energy and Storage Power. Read more>>

India is proposing tweaks in its laws to make it mandatory for industrial units to use a minimum share of green energy in overall electricity consumption as the country seeks to move away from fossil fuels and fight climate change. Proposed amendments will facilitate the development of a carbon market in India besides prescribing a minimum consumption of renewable energy for industrial units, the government said in a statement Saturday. “The objective will be to enhance demand for renewable energy at the end-use sectors such as industry, buildings, transport,” and others, India’s ministry of power said in the statement, add adding that this may also facilitate the use of “green hydrogen” as an alternate to the existing fossil fuels.  Carbon saving certificates will also be given to spur companies toward clean energy sources. The statement did not specify the minimum use percentage that the government is planning to mandate.

India's prime minister on Monday used the COP26 climate talks to announce 2070 as the target for his country to reach net zero carbon emissions, two decades beyond what scientists say is needed to avert catastrophic climate impacts. Prime Minister defended India, however, as having stuck to its climate pledges "in spirit and "in spirit and letter" and noted that his country contained 17% of the world's population but was responsible for only 5% of global emissions.

India and Italy have agreed to explore development of green hydrogen, setting up renewable energy corridors, and joint projects in the natural gas sector as the two nations sought to strengthen partnership in energy transition. They agreed to "initiate a dialogue to support the development and deployment of green hydrogen and related technologies in India" as well as to "consider working together to support a large size green corridor project in India to capitalize on India's target to produce and integrate 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030.

India and the European Union have vowed to scale up cooperation in areas of clean energy with a focus on offshore wind, green hydrogen, and solar power besides deciding to encourage investments in the field of energy efficiency. Various aspects of deepening clean energy cooperation were discussed at a meeting of the India-EU Energy Panel. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the panel agreed on a detailed work programme until 2023 to implement clean energy and climate partnership that was agreed in 2016. Some of the areas identified for cooperation included ensuring nearly zero energy buildings and renewable energy sources, including solar and offshore wind.

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has joined hands with Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL) in a bid to implement electric vehicle charging facilities across the country. CESL is a subsidiary of state-owned Energy Efficiency Services Ltd. This pact will help both parties collaborate on technological advancements to set up electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure that includes developing flagship products, standardizing technical specifications and customizing solutions for the Indian EV charging ecosystem.

India is working on reducing vehicular pollution in its metros, with the government encouraging startups to innovate on technology to make electric vehicles affordable for the masses. Several states have also formed their various EV policies and are encouraging people to adopt EVs with various subsidy schemes in a bid to reduce the carbon footprint.

E-Amrit is a one-stop destination for all information on electric vehicles–busting myths around the adoption of EVs. The Central government launched ‘E-Amrit’, a web portal on electric vehicles (EVs), at the ongoing COP26 Summit in United Kingdom’s Glasgow. According to a statement issued by the NITI Aayog, E-Amrit is a one-stop destination for all information on electric vehicles–busting myths around the adoption of EVs, their purchase, investment opportunities, policies, and subsidies. “The portal has been developed and hosted by NITI Aayog under a collaborative knowledge exchange programme with the UK government and as part of the UK-India Joint Roadmap 2030, signed by the Prime Ministers of the two countries,” the statement said.

E-Amrit intends to complement initiatives of the government on raising awareness on EVs and sensitizing consumers on the benefits of switching to electric vehicles. In the recent past, India has taken many initiatives to accelerate the decarbonization of transport and the adoption of electric mobility in the country. Schemes such as FAME and PLI are especially important in creating an ecosystem for the early adoption of EVs. NITI Aayog intends to add more features and introduce innovative tools to make the portal more interactive and user-friendly.