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The Hindu
7 hours ago
- Health
- The Hindu
Central Pollution Control Board to decide on future of flue gas desulphurisation units: Power Minister
The Union Ministry of Power will wait for the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to decide on whether flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) units should be mandatory for all coal-fired thermal power plants, Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said in a response to a question from The Hindu at a press conference on Tuesday (June 10, 2025). On the June 4, The Hindu had reported on a meeting in April involving a high-powered committee of experts, chaired by the Principal Scientific Advisor, Ajay Sood. The group recommended that India do away with its decade-long policy of mandating equipment, including FGD units, in all coal-fired thermal power plant units (TPPs). While 92% of India's 600 TPPs, spread across about 180 coal plants, haven't yet installed FGD units, the recommendation exempts about 80% of them from installing such equipment. So far, the government has granted three extensions since 2017, the latest being in December 2024, for plants to comply by 2027-2030. FGDs are an additional piece of equipment required to be retro-fitted in TPPs to cut harmful sulphur dioxide emissions resulting from burning coal. Sulphur dioxide emissions can also hover in the atmosphere and form aerosols of sulphates that, on the one hand, can somewhat temper the heat from global warming, but also exacerbate particulate matter pollution and respiratory diseases. It is estimated that the current installation cost of such equipment is about ₹1 crore per megawatt (MW) of installed power capacity. 'Scientific institutions such as CSIR (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research), IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Delhi have studied this. The sulphate aerosols from these coal plants aren't to the extent that they affect human is less than 5%. On the contrary, it is necessary that some of it remain in the atmosphere. If it is too less, it can increase warming,' Mr. Khattar said. 'That said, the CPCB is looking at this and hasn't come to a conclusion. We will implement anything only after examining their verdict. About 97,000 MW of power will be added, and implementing FGD means an additional expense of ₹97,000 crore. We have to consider this carefully. Neither should health be harmed, nor people face increased tariffs, nor warming increase. You must have read about the thousands of lives lost in Europe from heatwaves,' he added. As The Hindu had reported, the committee, according to the minutes of the meeting viewed by The Hindu, will 'recommend' to the Power and Environment Ministers that only power plants located in a 10 km radius of the National Capital Region, and cities with a population of over one million, are required to install FGD units. These are called Category A plants. There are 66 such plants, and only 14 of them have installed FGD units. All these plants are required to comply by 2027. Those in a 10-km radius of 'Critically Polluted Cities' or 'Non Attainment Cities', called Category B plants, would be eligible for exemption on a 'case by case' basis, upon a joint review by the Central Electricity Authority or the CPCB. There are 72 such plants, with only 4 having installed FGD units. These plants have a deadline of 2028. The remaining 462 plants come under Category C. Thirty-two of them have installed FGD units. These plants have a 2029 deadline. Over 600 units in categories A and B could be additionally exempted if they were 20 years and older. 'The key common point in these studies is that, fitment of FGDs in all TPPs in India is not necessary to comply with the NAAQ (National Ambient Air Quality) standards whose compliance is essential to safeguard public health. While all TPPs must comply with the December 2015 stack emission standards for PM pollution and freshwater consumption, the SO2 stack emission standards can be relaxed to ensure that they are in conformance with the NAAQ standards which are notified by CPCB, keeping in mind the human health and other aspects. This way, TPPs may be able to comply with these standards without fitting FGDs. Since the existing NAAQ standards (for ambient SO2) must be complied with, this change will not affect human health in India,' the committee had concluded.
The Hindu
03-06-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Sulphur-cleaning device in coal plants not necessary: Central scientific committee
A high-powered committee of experts, chaired by Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) Ajay Sood, has recommended that India do away with a decade-long policy of mandating equipment, called Flu Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) units, in all coal-fired thermal power plants (TPPs), according to documents perused by The Hindu. These FGD units are required to be retro-fitted in TPPs to cut harmful sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions. While 92% of India's 600 TPPs have not yet installed FGD units, the recommendation would exempt about 80% of them from needing to install such equipment. The limited number of vendors capable of installing such equipment in India, the high installation costs, the potential rise in electricity bills, and disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have been some of the reasons historically cited by the Power Ministry, the overseer of India's TPPs, for plants' inability to adhere to previous deadlines. In theory, the costs of non-compliance could run to crores of rupees in fines, though these have not materialised thanks to deadline extensions. 'FGD not necessary' However, this was the first time that multiple arms of the government congregated to deliberate on whether FGDs were required in the first place. Their verdict draws on three reports by the CSIR-NEERI, the National Institute of Advanced Studies, and the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. The lead scientists of these three institutions – each 'supported' by different arms of the government – were at the meeting on April 23, along with representatives from the Office of the PSA, the Union Power Ministry, and the NITI Ayog. They were all largely unanimous that FGD 'was not necessary.' The guiding principles informing the committee's recommendation are that: SO2 levels in ambient air across the country are around 10-20 micrograms/cubic metre, well below India's air quality norms of 80; Indian coal is low in sulphur; SO2 levels in cities near plants with operational FGD units do not differ significantly from those without these units, and all of these were anyway well below permissible levels. The committee opined that concerns about sulphates – a potential by-product when SO2 emissions reach certain atmospheric levels, thus forming particulate matter (PM) – are unfounded. They cited an analysis of 5,792 PM samples across the country, which found 'low elemental sulphur' content (max 8 micrograms/m3 after outlier removal) which was deemed 'insignificant — for considering PM removal as a benefit of FGD.' FGDs may worsen carbon emissions One argument mentioned in the report was that using FGDs might result in additional carbon dioxide emissions and accentuate global warming. 'Installing FGDs in all TPPs by 2030 will increase the Auxiliary Power Consumption (APC) of the TPPs, thereby adding approximately 69 million tons of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere (2025-30) while reducing SO2 emissions by —17 million tons. Adding more long-lived CO2 emissions while removing short-lived SO2 emissions by installing FGDs indiscriminately in all TPPs in India despite the low Sulphur content of Indian coal will enhance global warming.' On the other hand, given that burning coal is India's primary source of electricity, India's annual SO2 emissions has risen from 4,000 kilotonnes in 2010 to 6,000 kilotonnes in 2022. By comparison, Indonesia, a source of imported coal to India has averaged about 2,000 kt in the same period, according to data from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), a Helsinki-based think tank. This is when India's emission standards, at 100 micrograms/m3 (thus requiring FGD), is lower than Indonesia's 800. Environment Ministry 'studying' order Those who attended the meeting included the Secretary, Minister of Power and three other senior officials; Secretary, Environment and Forests and two other officials; four officials of the Office of the PSA; representatives of the NITI Ayog, Central Electricity Authority (the power regulator), Central Pollution Control Board, and academicians. A detailed questionnaire to the Power Ministry was unanswered until press time. Tanmay Kumar, Secretary, Environment Ministry, told The Hindu that his Ministry was 'studying' the order. India has 180 coal-fired thermal power plants, each of them with multiple units. The 600 TPPs, depending on their size, age, proximity to densely populous cities, and background pollution levels, were given different timelines by the Environment Ministry to comply with the FGD installation requirements. Deadlines have been shifted three times, with the most recent extension coming on Dec 31, 2024. Major population centres The committee, according to the minutes of the meeting seen by The Hindu, will 'recommend' to the Power and Environment Ministers that only power plants located within a 10-km radius of the National Capital Region and other cities with a million-plus population be required to install FGDs. These are called Category A plants. There are 66 such plants, and only 14 of them have installed FGDs. Currently, all these plants are required to comply by 2027. Plants within a 10-km radius of 'Critically Polluted Cities' or 'Non Attainment Cities', called Category B plants, would be eligible for exemption on a 'case by case' basis, on a joint review by the Central Electricity Authority or Central Pollution Control Board. There are 72 such plants, with only four having installed FGD. These plants currently have a deadline of 2028. The remaining 462 plants all come under Category C, of which 32 have installed FGDs. These plants have been given a 2029 deadline, but the committee has now recommended that Category C plants be exempted completely, along with some units in Categories A and B which were set up at least 20 years ago. 'Will not affect public health' 'The key common point in these studies is that fitment of FGDs in all TPPs in India is not necessary to comply with the NAAQ (National Ambient Air Quality) standards whose compliance is essential to safeguard public health. While all TPPs must comply with the December 2015 stack emission standards for PM pollution and freshwater consumption, the SO2 stack emission standards can be relaxed to ensure that they are in conformance with the NAAQ standards which are notified by CPCB, keeping in mind the human health and other aspects. This way, TPPs may be able to comply with these standards without fitting FGDs. Since the existing NAAQ standards (for ambient SO2) must be complied with, this change will not affect human health in India,' the committee concludes. Currently, State governments or affiliated companies run a majority of the Category A TPPs, whereas private authorities hold the highest share in Categories B and C.
The Hindu
03-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Central scientific committee says sulphur-cleaning device in most coal plants ‘not necessary'
A high-powered committee of experts, chaired by Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) Ajay Sood, has recommended that India do away with a decade-long policy of mandating equipment, called Flu Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) units, in all coal-fired thermal power plants (TPPs), according to documents perused by The Hindu. These FGD units are required to be retro-fitted in TPPs to cut harmful sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions. While 92% of India's 600 TPPs have not yet installed FGD units, the recommendation would exempt about 80% of them from needing to install such equipment. The limited number of vendors capable of installing such equipment in India, the high installation costs, the potential rise in electricity bills, and disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have been some of the reasons historically cited by the Power Ministry, the overseer of India's TPPs, for plants' inability to adhere to previous deadlines. In theory, the costs of non-compliance could run to crores of rupees in fines, though these have not materialised thanks to deadline extensions. 'FGD not necessary' However, this was the first time that multiple arms of the government congregated to deliberate on whether FGDs were required in the first place. Their verdict draws on three reports by the CSIR-NEERI, the National Institute of Advanced Studies, and the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. The lead scientists of these three institutions – each 'supported' by different arms of the government – were at the meeting on April 23, along with representatives from the Office of the PSA, the Union Power Ministry, and the NITI Ayog. They were all largely unanimous that FGD 'was not necessary.' The guiding principles informing the committee's recommendation are that: SO2 levels in ambient air across the country are around 10-20 micrograms/cubic metre, well below India's air quality norms of 80; Indian coal is low in sulphur; SO2 levels in cities near plants with operational FGD units do not differ significantly from those without these units, and all of these were anyway well below permissible levels. The committee opined that concerns about sulphates – a potential by-product when SO2 emissions reach certain atmospheric levels, thus forming particulate matter (PM) – are unfounded. They cited an analysis of 5,792 PM samples across the country, which found 'low elemental sulphur' content (max 8 micrograms/m3 after outlier removal) which was deemed 'insignificant — for considering PM removal as a benefit of FGD.' FGDs may worsen carbon emissions One argument mentioned in the report was that using FGDs might result in additional carbon dioxide emissions and accentuate global warming. 'Installing FGDs in all TPPs by 2030 will increase the Auxiliary Power Consumption (APC) of the TPPs, thereby adding approximately 69 million tons of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere (2025-30) while reducing SO2 emissions by —17 million tons. Adding more long-lived CO2 emissions while removing short-lived SO2 emissions by installing FGDs indiscriminately in all TPPs in India despite the low Sulphur content of Indian coal will enhance global warming.' On the other hand, given that burning coal is India's primary source of electricity, India's annual SO2 emissions has risen from 4,000 kilotonnes in 2010 to 6,000 kilotonnes in 2022. By comparison, Indonesia, a source of imported coal to India has averaged about 2,000 kt in the same period, according to data from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), a Helsinki-based think tank. This is when India's emission standards, at 100 micrograms/m3 (thus requiring FGD), is lower than Indonesia's 800. Environment Ministry 'studying' order Those who attended the meeting included the Secretary, Minister of Power and three other senior officials; Secretary, Environment and Forests and two other officials; four officials of the Office of the PSA; representatives of the NITI Ayog, Central Electricity Authority (the power regulator), Central Pollution Control Board, and academicians. A detailed questionnaire to the Power Ministry was unanswered until press time. Tanmay Kumar, Secretary, Environment Ministry, told The Hindu that his Ministry was 'studying' the order. India has 180 coal-fired thermal power plants, each of them with multiple units. The 600 TPPs, depending on their size, age, proximity to densely populous cities, and background pollution levels, were given different timelines by the Environment Ministry to comply with the FGD installation requirements. Deadlines have been shifted three times, with the most recent extension coming on Dec 31, 2024. Major population centres The committee, according to the minutes of the meeting seen by The Hindu, will 'recommend' to the Power and Environment Ministers that only power plants located within a 10-km radius of the National Capital Region and other cities with a million-plus population be required to install FGDs. These are called Category A plants. There are 66 such plants, and only 14 of them have installed FGDs. Currently, all these plants are required to comply by 2027. Plants within a 10-km radius of 'Critically Polluted Cities' or 'Non Attainment Cities', called Category B plants, would be eligible for exemption on a 'case by case' basis, on a joint review by the Central Electricity Authority or Central Pollution Control Board. There are 72 such plants, with only four having installed FGD. These plants currently have a deadline of 2028. The remaining 462 plants all come under Category C, of which 32 have installed FGDs. These plants have been given a 2029 deadline, but the committee has now recommended that Category C plants be exempted completely, along with some units in Categories A and B which were set up at least 20 years ago. 'Will not affect public health' 'The key common point in these studies is that fitment of FGDs in all TPPs in India is not necessary to comply with the NAAQ (National Ambient Air Quality) standards whose compliance is essential to safeguard public health. While all TPPs must comply with the December 2015 stack emission standards for PM pollution and freshwater consumption, the SO2 stack emission standards can be relaxed to ensure that they are in conformance with the NAAQ standards which are notified by CPCB, keeping in mind the human health and other aspects. This way, TPPs may be able to comply with these standards without fitting FGDs. Since the existing NAAQ standards (for ambient SO2) must be complied with, this change will not affect human health in India,' the committee concludes. Currently, State governments or affiliated companies run a majority of the Category A TPPs, whereas private authorities hold the highest share in Categories B and C.
Hans India
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
PM Modi's vision driving growth of science and technology: Ajay Sood
Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, on Sunday credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision and push to leverage science and technology on several platforms for the growth seen in the field in recent years. Talking about AI-related challenges, Sood, who has been elected as an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, said India is well placed to take on the AI challenges. He said we need to be one up to see that we ethically utilise the strength of AI, transparently and inclusively. Excerpts from an exclusive interview with IANS: IANS: You have been elected as an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. How important is this recognition and the role of Prime Minister Modi's guidance on this? Ajay Sood: I truly feel humbled by this recognition. This academy was founded in 1780, and the uniqueness of this academy is that it recognises leaders, leadership and honours excellence in all works of the arts and sciences. So they have recognised our contribution in the field of public affairs and public policy. This is very significant because if you look at what is happening in our country in the last few years, we have a tremendous push under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on science and technology on every platform. This is being amplified in different ways, so the Principal Scientific Advisor's role, which comes in this technology policy, is very important. This recognition really recognises our contributions in this field. It's not a contribution to me. It's a contribution actually to the entire nation and the entire ecosystem. In some sense, this is honouring the science and technology growth in our country in the last many years. If you look at the list, under international members, we have members from 16 countries, and I am the one from India, and there are two other people of Indian origin, Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft and C. Jagdish, President of the Australian Academy of Sciences. We are three of Indian origin, so in that sense, it's a very good honour, and I am grateful for this recognition One reason that I feel very humbled by this recognition is also the people who have been elected before me in this academy. I see names of Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Laurence Olivier, you know Akira Guru, the famous filmmaker, Nelson Mandela, and so these names, as you know, are really like the world leaders in their own fields, and this makes you feel further humbled by this recognition. IANS: How do you see the impact of the Indian diaspora on the global stage? How has the perception of India changed in the world in the last decade? Ajay Sood: India is making a huge impact actually in all walks of science and technology, technology and innovation. You look at all the leadership in the top companies, that is where you will find Indian leadership. You will see that India as a country is highly respected and recognised for its innovative culture and innovative ways of doing science; we don't follow people. We follow our own way of making something ahead in this ecosystem. Under Prime Minister Modi's leadership, India has launched many missions recently, for example, India, quantum mission, artificial intelligence mission, green hydrogen mission, and all these things are reflecting India's growth story in science and technology, and India's diaspora is making waves in all walks of science and technology. IANS: How is India prepared in view of AI challenges and innovation? Ajay Sood: India is well placed to take on the AI challenges, as you know that India launched a very big AI national mission. The office of Principal Scientific Advisor has a role to play in that, and AI is here to stay. AI will make a big, big difference in our lives, be it in our social life or scientific life, and this is where we need to take advantage of this, and we need to be leaders in this rather than followers. The mission outlines seven verticals, and in all of those verticals, work is going on. The good news is, as we speak, AI is progressing extremely well in India. In the coming months, you will see the difference. Our minister has already announced India's LLM foundation model, and substantial financial support has been given, and many more are in the pipeline in that direction. IANS: How will AI change the work atmosphere in countries like India? Ajay Sood: AI is not a replacement. It is an assistive technology and a disruptive technology, both. AI will tell us how we work differently. For example, the service-oriented sectors will be tremendously affected by AI intervention. So, we should not cry that the services are getting affected because when AI comes into picture, what people must see is how we use this technology to provide even better services or even new services, new products and not simply stick to the old services model which might get threatened with the coming of AI. There is no way that AI will not make a difference in our lives. It will make and we need to be one up to see that we utilise the strength of AI in an ethical manner, in a transparent manner and in an inclusive manner, so the safety aspects are equally important. In the government, there is a tremendous effort in this, and an AI safety policy is in the rollout process. IANS: Given the challenges on the border, how do India's scientific innovations give it an edge over Pakistan? Ajay Sood: There is no comparison. If you look at the tremendous progress our country has made in any field. You take in atomic energy, in space, in digital transformation and clean energy and in biotech technology. You name it. Actually, we are at the forefront; if we are not at the forefront, we are getting there, and this is where all the SNT policies, SNT framework, SNT interventions, and SNT financial support - all are coming into the picture. IT involves stakeholders from all sectors, be it academia, industry, government and policy makers. Everyone has come together to make a difference, so the comparison is actually not relevant. We will say that we are logically many, many decades different from that, so there is no comparison at all. IANS: How can India face the challenge put forth by China in scientific innovation? Ajay Sood: We need to see how we position ourselves. In this, we should see how India can lead. India needs to be a product nation. It is not only a service economy but a product nation as well. If you want that, we would need many things, we will need our design capabilities, we will need to go from design to production manufacturing and then marketing. We have to see the challenges which are there, but I do not see that this will really deter us from going further in our pursuit of excelling in science and technology. I don't see any negative aspect, but it's a good challenge for us to make sure that we remain relevant and we remain at the forefront of technology, so this is very essential for the entire country, and our leadership is seized of this and they are really motivating us to do the needful. IANS: PM Modi puts special emphasis on technology and its use. Can you share your experience about working with him? Ajay Sood: Prime Minister Modi is absolutely focused on science and technology. Technology is a vehicle for improving the lives of our countrymen. If you look at all the speeches from August 15 from the Red Fort, it's completely obvious that this is really one of the main focuses. He gave many, many new programmes on August 15 last year – be it quantum mission, be it the AI mission, and anything which is technology. Actually, S&T is at the heart of this government's policies. Look at the innovation, look at the start-up culture. The start-up culture has exponentially grown in the last 11 years. We had around 470 start-ups. Now we have 1.7 lakh start-ups. These start-ups. They have tremendous support from the government, and whatever needs to be done. I think we should look at it, and PM Modi's focus on science and technology is totally there. IANS: How PM Modi's focus towards scientific innovations shaped the new India? Ajay Sood: PM Modi's focus has been on how to really take science to the masses. A very good example of this is the digital transformation. You look at it, our digital transformation, digital transactions, be it Aadhaar registration, be it UPI, be it digital signature, be it in the education sector. The technology is enabled in a way that it is democratic, transparent and affordable, and this is where Prime Minister Modi's clear directive clear direction really is coming into the picture. He and the Minister of Science and Technology believe that innovation, which goes along with science and technology, will nurture the tree of Viksit Bharat 2047. Anything, be it our space exploration, Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan, all this is driven by Prime Minister Modi's vision of keeping science and technology at the centre of our growth ecosystem.
The Hindu
29-04-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
Insufficient support for deep tech, startups by public-funded R&D: Study
Only about one in four public-funded research and development organisations in India give incubation support to start-ups and only one in six provide support to 'deep tech' startups. Only 15% collaborated with industry overseas and only half of them opened their facilities to outside researchers and students, say the findings of a study commissioned by the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor and executed by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Centre for Technology, Innovation, and Economic Research. The study, via a detailed questionnaire, asked labs to rate themselves and supply data on 62 parameters such as their spend on R&D, number of young scientists, patents filed, technologies developed, participation of women scientists and their contribution to 'national missions' such as Deep Ocean Mission, National Quantum Mission, etc. Labs of the 'strategic sector' such as those belonging to defence research, space, atomic energy research — all of which constitute the lion's share of India's overall Research and Development (R&D) spend — were excluded from the study due to the 'sensitive nature of their work'. The labs studied were those affiliated to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the Department of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, etc. The Central government expenditure on R&D was around ₹55,685 crore in 2020-21, the figure cited in the study and the latest available. Excluding the expenditure of the strategic departments like DRDO (Defence), DAE (Atomic energy) and DoS (Space), the spending by key scientific agencies and other Central government departments was ₹24,587 crore. Around 25% of the participating institutions reported spending between 75% and 100% of their budget on R&D. The organizations that reported less than the median share of spending on R&D and S&T (Science and Technology) in the overall budget were largely from ICAR (Agricultural research), CSIR, ICMR (Medical research), Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda and traditional medicine) and DST (Science and Technology). Staff strength down A large number of labs/institutes reported a decrease in the number of permanent staff in 2022-23 compared to the previous year and an increased reliance — from 17,234 to 19,625 — on contractual staff. The median share of young researchers increased in 2022-23 to around 58 per cent from 54 per cent in the previous year. In the previous exercise, for around 193 organisations that had participated, this number was around 63 per cent to 65 per cent for the period from 2017-18 to 2019-20. 'This is the second time that we have had such an analysis. What we intend is that the data from such a study be closely analysed by institutions so that they can identify areas of improvement,' said Dr. Ajay Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser, 'Overall, several researchers seem to have oriented themselves from being centres of scientific inquiry to innovation centres. I see that as a positive development. Academia and product innovation must go hand in hand.' As part of its recommendation, the report advocates that every lab should be 'mandated to review their existing mandates' and align themselves to Viksit Bharat goals. The mandate should focus on 'critical technologies' as directed by the government and be taken on a 'war footing' by public-funded R&D organisations. They should work closely with industry as well as with each other.
