New AC rules set cool limits at 20-28°C. Which other countries set AC limits?
The regulation is expected to yield substantial energy savings, reduce emissions, and help stabilise the country's power grid as it faces ever-hotter summers.WHAT IS THE NEW RULE?All new ACs sold in India must have a minimum temperature setting of 20C and a maximum of 28C.The rule will apply across sectors: residential, commercial (including malls, hotels, offices, and theaters), and even air-conditioned vehicles.The government expects this measure to save consumers up to Rs 18,000–20,000 crore in three years and significantly reduce power consumption and carbon emissions.WHY IS INDIA DOING THIS?The regulation is a response to:Record-breaking peak power demand (recently reaching 241 GW).The rapid increase in AC usage due to urbanisation and rising temperatures.The need to reduce strain on the power grid, lower electricity bills, and cut carbon emissions.WHICH OTHER COUNTRIES HAVE SIMILAR RULES?India's policy is among the strictest globally, but several countries have implemented comparable measures, mostly targeting public buildings and in response to energy crises:Italy: Operation Thermostat mandates a minimum AC setting of 27C (with a 2C tolerance, so as low as 25C) in public buildings, with fines for non-compliance.Spain: AC in public spaces must be set at or above 27C; for households, it is a recommendation, not a legal requirement.Greece: Similar to Spain and Italy, Greece requires public buildings to set AC no lower than 27C as part of a national energy-saving initiative.Japan: The government recommends a default AC setting of 28C in offices and public buildings, but this is not legally enforced. Rather, it is promoted through campaigns like 'Cool Biz'.USA (California): Some guidelines exist for energy conservation, but there is no statewide legal minimum AC temperature for homes or offices.HOW DOES INDIA'S RULE COMPARE?Scope: India's regulation is broader, covering not just public buildings but also private homes and vehicles, and is legally binding for new AC units.Minimum setting: At 20C, India's minimum is lower than the European mandates (which are generally 25–27C), but the move is significant given the country's climate and energy challenges.Enforcement: Unlike Japan and parts of the US, where temperature settings are recommendations, India's rule will be mandatory for all new ACs sold, with manufacturers required to comply.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
13 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Chinese school under fire after piling Rs 1.21 crore cash on stage as reward for top university admit
A private school in China has come under fire after offering a one million yuan (Rs 1.21 crore) cash reward to a graduate admitted to the prestigious Tsinghua University. In early August, Dajiang International School in Guigang, a small city in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, held its graduation ceremony for the Class of 2025. At the event, several students who secured spots at top universities received large cash prizes from their alma mater, South China Morning Post reported. Other students were also rewarded: one admitted to Zhejiang University and another to Hong Kong University each received 150,000 yuan (Rs 18.18 lakh), while a graduate heading to Huazhong Agricultural University in Hubei province was granted 10,000 yuan (Rs 1.21 lakh). Viral videos of the ceremony fueled heated debate online. A school employee told local media that the cash awards vary depending on the university's rank and are adjusted annually. In 2022, Dajiang awarded half a million yuan to students entering either Peking University or Tsinghua. Average-level university admits typically receive around 3,000 yuan (Rs 36,000). But the policy soon drew official scrutiny. On August 12, the Guigang Municipal Education Bureau confirmed to Jiupai News that it had ordered the school to halt the practice. 'The state discourages schools from publicizing gaokao scores in this way,' said an unnamed official. The incident highlights how highly Chinese schools value admissions into Tsinghua and Peking University—ranked 17th and 14th respectively in the 2026 QS World University Rankings—and use them as benchmarks of academic success. In some schools, teachers themselves receive cash bonuses if their students are admitted to these elite institutions. In July, a separate high school in Jiangxi province stirred controversy after a teacher scolded three students online for not applying to Tsinghua or Peking despite qualifying scores. The students chose lower-ranked universities offering majors with better career prospects instead. Education experts argue that schools' fixation on elite university admissions—and the financial incentives tied to them—distorts priorities. Xiong Bingqi, a Shanghai-based scholar, wrote in the Beijing News that Dajiang's award scheme was nothing more than 'a marketing initiative to promote itself and attract more elite students.' 'Schools should not use high awards to instil the utilitarian perception that studying leads directly to financial returns,' Xiong warned, SCMP reported. 'They should care about the long-term development of each individual student and guide them to shape their own life plans.'
Economic Times
16 minutes ago
- Economic Times
From Balakot to Sindoor: Inside the operations that made terror camps fair game
Synopsis In just over a decade, India has rewritten its security playbook. The Modi government has doubled defence spending, pushed homegrown production, and turned India into a global exporter. Operations from Balakot to Sindoor have shown that terror will be met with force. At home, extremism is fading, and self-reliance has spread across food, finance, and technology. The picture that emerges is of a country less reactive, more assertive, and determined to protect its sovereignty on every front. TIL Creatives Representative AI Image The strikes on Balakot in 2019 marked a clear shift. They followed the Pulwama attack, where forty CRPF personnel were killed. For the first time, Indian jets crossed deep into Pakistani territory to destroy a terrorist training camp. That operation set the stage for a bolder security doctrine. Six years later came Operation Sindoor. In May 2025, after civilians were murdered in Pahalgam, India's armed forces launched precision strikes. Drone and missile attacks destroyed nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, killing over a hundred terrorists. Among them were figures tied to the Pulwama bombing and the 1999 IC-814 hijacking. Pakistan's retaliation faltered, its drones and missiles shot down by Indian counter-systems. From the Red Fort that August, Prime Minister Modi called it 'a new normal,' signalling to the world that India would not hesitate again. PM Modi has since laid out five unambiguous lines: Every terror attack will be answered decisively. Nuclear blackmail has no sway. Terrorists and their sponsors are treated as one. Talks, if ever, will only be about terrorism or Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. 'Terror and talks cannot go together, terror and trade cannot go together, and blood and water cannot flow together.'These words, repeated at rallies and addresses, frame a doctrine that mixes clarity with deterrence. Behind these actions stands a broader transformation. Defence spending rose from Rs 2.53 lakh crore in 2013–14 to Rs 6.81 lakh crore in 2025–26. Domestic production, once negligible, reached Rs 1.50 lakh crore in 2024–25, three times higher than a decade earlier. Today, fighter aircraft, artillery, missile systems, warships, and even aircraft carriers are designed and built in India. Defence exports touched Rs 23,622 crore in 2024–25, reaching over a hundred nations, including the United States, France, and slogan of Atmanirbharta 'self-reliance' has been backed by policy. The Defence Acquisition Procedure of 2020 placed Indian design and manufacturing at the top of the order. The Make categories offered state support for prototypes and opened the field to start-ups and MSMEs. One hundred and forty-six projects have been cleared across the services. Foreign investment rules were relaxed, allowing 74 percent automatic investment and up to full ownership with approval in advanced and joint ventures were encouraged too. The Offset Portal tracks commitments by foreign firms. The Strategic Partnership Model has paired Indian companies with global manufacturers. In 2019, an agreement with Russia allowed local production of spares, cutting delays and ahead will not be fought the way they once were. Anticipating this, the government created the Defence AI Council and the Defence AI Project Agency. Each public-sector defence unit now has its own AI roadmap. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has identified nine thrust areas, including cyber security, robotics, soldier support, and space Sudarshan Chakra Mission, launched in 2025, aims to deliver a full-spectrum national security shield by 2035. Its focus: predictive technologies, precision responses, and indigenous systems that defend both the battlefield and civilian security tells another part of the story. Left-Wing Extremism once scarred large swathes of central India. Now, fewer than twenty districts remain affected. Over 8,000 Naxalites gave up arms in the past decade. The toll of violence shrank from 1,936 incidents in 2010 to just 374 in 2024, with civilian and security force deaths falling by 85 percent. New roads, schools, communication links, and welfare schemes helped weaken the insurgency's grip alongside security is not limited to the armed forces. Food production rose from 246 million tonnes in 2013–14 to nearly 354 million tonnes in 2024–25. Farmers have received more than Rs 3.9 lakh crore under PM-KISAN. India now produces a quarter of the world's milk and has doubled its fish output since inclusion has expanded dramatically. By March 2025, the RBI's Financial Inclusion Index stood at 67.0, up almost a quarter since 2021. Through the Jan Dhan Yojana, 56 crore people opened accounts worth Rs 2.64 lakh crore. Women make up more than half of these account holders. The World Bank estimates that 89 percent of Indians now have a bank too, has been pulled into the fold. The Rs 76,000 crore semiconductor mission announced in 2021 bore fruit with the launch of 3-nanometre chip design centres in Noida and Bengaluru. By 2025, India's first indigenous chip was ready for together, these strands form a coherent picture. India today is less willing to wait and more ready to act. Its security is rooted in homegrown capacity, decisive leadership, and a refusal to bow to threats. From Balakot to Sindoor, from food fields to chip foundries, the story is of a nation seeking control over its future rather than reliance on others. A decade on, the change is not just in numbers or hardware but in confidence.
India.com
16 minutes ago
- India.com
Tech Showdown: Best 5G Smartphone Under Rs 25,000 – Realme P4 vs Redmi 15; Camera, Battery, Display, Design And AI Features Compared
2 / 3 The Realme P4 5G starts at Rs 18,499 for the 6GB + 128GB model, Rs 19,499 for the 8GB + 128GB variant, and Rs 21,499 for the 8GB + 256GB version. The smartphone sale begin on August 25 via Realme India's website, Flipkart, and retail stores. Meanwhile, the Redmi 15 5G is more affordable, starting at Rs 14,999 for the 6GB + 128GB model, Rs 15,999 for the 8GB + 128GB variant, and Rs 16,999 for the 8GB + 256GB version. The phone will be available from August 28 via Amazon, Xiaomi India's website, and offline outlets in the country.
