Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) has got the green signal to roll out the ambitious Artificial Intelligence (AI) mission, resolving a long-standing issue of which arm of the administration would implement the prestigious project. The AI Mission is a five-year programme announced in the Budget two years ago. For the last couple of years, India has been harbouring big ambitions to develop its own AI roadmap and strategy to counter the lead that China already has in this area.

India's power ministry has proposed pushing back the deadlines for adoption of new emission norms by coal-fired power plants, saying "an unworkable time schedule" would burden utilities and lead to an increase in power tariffs. India initially had set a 2017 deadline for thermal power plants to comply with emissions standards for installing Flue Gas Desulphurization (FGD) units that cut emissions of toxic sulphur dioxide. That was later changed to varying deadlines for different regions, ending in 2022. 

NITI Aayog, Ministry of Power, Rockefeller Foundation, and Smart Power India launched the ‘Electricity Access in India and Benchmarking Distribution Utilities’ report.  Based on a primary survey conducted across 10 states––representing about 65% of the total rural population of India and with a sample size of more than 25,000, including households, commercial enterprises and institutions––the report assesses 25 distribution utilities.

Executive Director of International Energy Agency (IEA), Mr. Fatih Birol said that India has moved to the Centre stage of international Energy Affairs and is a role model for other major emerging economies. Speaking at a virtual launch of the Energy Technology Perspectives 2020, a new study of IEA which focusses on the technology needs and opportunities for reaching international climate and sustainable energy goals, Mr. Birol praised the Indian government for its efforts in providing clean energy to millions by way of schemes like Ujjawala and Ujala.

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, launched the “India Climate Change Knowledge Portal”. The Portal will be a “single point Information resource” which provides information on the different climate initiatives taken by various Line Ministries enabling users to access updated status on these initiatives. The portal captures sector-wise adaptation and mitigation actions that are being taken by the various line Ministries in one place including updated information on their implementation. The knowledge portal will help in disseminating knowledge among citizens about all the major steps Government is taking at both national and international levels to address climate change issues. 

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, has given its approval for signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Communications of the Republic of India and the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) of United Kingdom Government on cooperation in the field of Telecommunications /Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The MoU will contribute in strengthening bilateral cooperation and mutual understanding in the field of Telecomm./ ICTs.  Post-Brexit, the MoU is also aiming for enhanced scope of cooperation and opportunities for India.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Invest India have launched the SDG Investor Map for India, laying out 18 Investment Opportunities Areas (IOAs) in six critical SDG enabling sectors, that can help India push the needle forward on Sustainable Development.

As India strives to deliver over 100 smart cities across the country, standards-based deployment would help promote interoperability, security and multi-vendor deployments. International standards initiative for M2M and IoT technologies oneM2M has announced that its standard has been adopted at national level in India to develop the 100 smart cities plan of the country. oneM2M standard has been transposed in India by TSDSI.

Should India achieve its 2030 electric vehicle ambition and targets, it would present a market opportunity worth nearly $206 billion in the course of this decade, says an independent study released by the CEEW Centre for Energy Finance (CEEW-CEF). The study also estimates a cumulative investment need of over $180 billion in vehicle production and charging infrastructure until 2030 to meet India’s EV ambition. While India is yet to officially spell out its electrification targets for 2030, the aspiration as stipulated by NITI Aayog-government’s primary think tank, states that 70% of all commercial cars, 30% of private cars, 40 % of buses, and 80% of two-wheeler (2W) and three-wheeler (3W) sales would be electric by the end of this new decade. 

NITI Aayog CEO said the government was pushing for electric mobility with FAME and FAME 2 schemes, bringing down the rate of taxes on electric vehicles at 5%, as compared to 28% for other vehicles and 43% for hybrid vehicles. Tax exemption, up to Rs 1 lakh, to people who are buying electric vehicles to increase focus on electrification will be huge. If India has to emerge as a leader in clean, connected and shared mobility, there are two important things to keep in mind — one is that India is a major user of two- and three-wheelers and 80% of people travel in these vehicles. Second, battery will be an important component. Battery manufacturing and storage will be a key component and storage will have to be linked to renewable energy integration with the grid.