This New Year’s Eve-Stay at Home

 

Photo by Rakicevic Nenad: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-with-fireworks-769525/

It is that time of the year yet again. We all have plans to usher in the new year partying at a night spot, raucous outdoor event, the pristine (how I wish!) hills of Uttrakhand and Himachal, the packed beaches of Goa or the crowded desert destinations of Rajasthan. In order to do so, you have to brave traffic chaos, drunk revellers, inclement weather and the ill effects of overdrinking and overeating.

Why put yourself through all that? Why not usher in the new year in gentle contemplation of the year gone by in the company of your family in front of the telly or the fireplace (or convector/radiator)? Chat over pakoras and chai and come midnight pop a champagne or open a bottle of wine to share with your loved ones. Have a sumptuous meal, wish each other a heartfelt happy new year and wake up to a bright new one filled with sunshine and vigour.

Why do New Year's celebrations have to be a forced community event, with everybody jostling one another and shouting into each other's years? The mayhem witnessed on the highways leading to the hill stations of North India and other tourist destinations last Christmas weekend is all set to repeat this New Year's Eve weekend. Why opt for it?

If you are the kind who loves the hills and can't wait to be there, find a better time to enjoy their splendour and revel in some much-needed solitude. Not when everybody and their uncle and their neighbour is headed there vitiating the very pure air you pine (pun intended) for. In a country bursting at the seams with people, any special occasion becomes a reason for hordes to descend on the streets, highways, public parks, tourist resorts and every other place possible and rob them of any semblance of peace, order and serenity.

With travel vloggers being dime a dozen and with every conceivable place of interest for travellers being highlighted, analyzed, praised to the skies and heavily recommended, there is no mystique attached to any place anymore. There are highways and tunnels to the remotest of places and all that you need to get there is a set of wheels, which millions now possess, never mind the fact that air pollution levels in most of India are catastrophic.

This New Year's Eve can we all stay at home and observe the occasion in the company of those who truly love and care for us and forego all the noise? Instead, we can get to know what's going on in the lives of people who matter to us the most. We can usher in the new year in the warm glow of comfort that comes with being amongst one's own. Nothing better than starting the new year with your priorities sorted just right.

India Should Diversify Its Energy Sources

Photo by Pok Rie: https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-metal-current-posts-157827/

 

India is the third highest consumer of energy after China and the United States consuming 36.44 exajoules to 159.39 exajoules and 95.91 exajoules consumed by the latter respectively.[1] Securing the growing energy needs of this vast land is of prime importance if India is to reach its desired position amongst the top few nations of the world, as befits its size, history and aspirations. This is challenging in the best of times, but especially in the new global scenario which is seeing the rapid melting down of old certainties.

With the US retreating into itself and no longer desiring to be the global guarantor of the painstakingly created global world order and the emergence of a belligerent and expansionist China hell-bent on imposing its own version of a global world order dominated by them, India has its task cut out in charting an economic and foreign policy that best suits its interests. Diversifying its energy sources has to be at the top of its priorities.

India at present imports 85% of its oil, largely from the Middle East and Russia-regions that are fraught with geo-political tensions, including ongoing wars. That India is not immune from strife that afflicts other regions is clear from the West’s attempts to stop India from buying Russian oil and more recently the attack on a vessel off the coast of the Indian state of Gujarat carrying crude oil to India.

India needs to take a cue from the United States which is no longer an importer of oil and is totally energy independent, thanks in no small measure to the shale revolution witnessed by the country. As a matter of fact, the US is now a net oil exporter. While replicating that might seem like a tall order, nothing is impossible if one thinks through a plan that becomes a national priority. India was an importer of food grain in the 1960s and didn’t grow enough to meet the requirements of its people. All of that changed with the Green Revolution and today India is a food surplus nation that exports grain-a far cry from the days it had to receive grain in the shape of aid.

 

It is time that the nation made energy self-sufficiency a national priority. The first step in such a mission would be to diversify the sources of energy. The Indian government for its part has launched an ambitious energy security strategy which involves substantially increasing the use of petrol blended with ethanol, looking at alternative sources of energy, striving for a gas-based economy and promoting the use of green hydrogen.[2]

 

There is some potential of India exploiting its shale resources to obtain oil, but the activity should be carried out with due caution after taking into account ant environmental concerns that might arise on account of it. Solar energy on the other hand is as clean a source of energy as it possibly can get. Besides, India gets a lot of sun, unlike many other countries in the Northern Hemisphere that do not. According to the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), India boasts a solar energy potential of 748 GW, if one were to assume 3% of waste land could be utilized for installing Solar PV modules.[3] The other important source of clean renewable energy has a lot going for it too. India already ranks fourth after China, the United States and Germany in terms of installed wind capacity at 42.8 GW (on-shore) as of April of 2023. Furthermore, the National Institute of Wind Energy has estimated that India has a wind power potential of around 695.5 GW at 120 metres above ground level and 1164 GW metres above ground level.[4]

As for green hydrogen, it may not be a very viable source of energy at present owing to its high cost of production at $3.6 to $5.8 a kg, bringing it down to between $1 to $2 by the end of the decade will not only make it the most affordable source of energy in the world but also make it possible for India to export it.[5] Another source of natural perennial energy in the country is geothermal energy. According to the records of the Geological Survey of India, there are some 340 hot water springs in India. All in all, one can look at the potential of generating 10600 MW of energy using this source of energy.[6]

The future energy map of India should be a diverse and self-reliant one that provides that nation with the wherewithal to stand on its own and char its destiny unaffected by geopolitical tailwinds and headwinds. This is something that should be looked at in a holistic and long-term manner using the best minds and most cutting-edge technology to achieve. Once done, the nation will inexorably reach its destiny. Right there at the top, not as an expansionist hegemonic power, but as a self-reliant gentl

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[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/263455/primary-energy-consumption-of-selected-countries/#:~:text=China%20is%20the%20largest%20consumer,such%20as%20oil%20and%20coal.

[2] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1889967#:~:text=Petroleum%20%26%20Natural%20Gas-,India's%204%2Dplank%20energy%20security%20strategy%20is%20based%20on%20diversifying,by%202025%3A%20Hardeep%20Singh%20Puri.

[3] https://www.mondragon-assembly.com/?taxonomy=&term=noticias

[4] https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/india-wind-energy-potential#:~:text=Wind%20resource%20assessment%20by%20the,ground%20level%20across%20the%20nation.

[5] https://www.forbesindia.com/article/innovation/green-hydrogen-can-help-india-meet-its-netzero-ambitions-how-long-before-a-real-impact-is-seen/87937/1

[6] https://prepp.in/news/e-492-geothermal-energy-in-india---geography-notes