Don't depend on freebies, produce your own solar power: Union Minister Pralhad Joshi
Mangaluru (Karnataka) Jan 2: Union Minister for Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi urged people on Thursday not to be dependent on the governments for freebies, but to produce their own solar power.
Joshi attended a consultative meeting with the consumers, electricity supply company (ESCOM) officials, and people's representatives to discuss Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana here on Thursday.
"I will not comment on what the motives were behind the distribution of free power generated using environmentally harmful core sector material. But sustainability in the power sector is going to be the key to a safer future for the country," said Joshi, who is also the Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
According to Joshi, Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 15, 2024 aims to provide free electricity to households in India by providing a subsidy to install solar panels on their roofs. The subsidy will cover up to 40 percent of the cost of the solar panels.
He said with the free schemes involving non-renewable sources, somebody still has to pay a price.
"In this bargain, so many short cuts will have to be taken by the implementation bodies in the form of cutting production costs, thereby becoming unproductive and ending up sick," said Joshi.
Recalling the time he was a coal minister, Joshi said the cost being paid is enormous for what is being distributed as "free".
"I remember the statistics: 2.5 lakh tonnes of coal were being mined at enormous cost and environmental degradation, transported to the thermal power producers, and the process of producing thermal power involved a very high cost," he added.
Joshi also said the other renewable energy sources the government was looking at for development in the future, tidal, wind, and geothermal power are on the anvil.
"Research and product development are underway in these forms of energy.
The solar power management is also undergoing ground breaking research and product development, which will extend the life of solar power units from 25 years to 40 years. Their installed capacity will also increase, and the cost is going to be rationalised depending on the demand," added Joshi.
He said there is scientific data available that by 2050, the heat on earth is going to reach 'critical' levels.
"If we do not buckle up and use fewer heat-generating power modules, we may reach there even by 2030," Joshi pointed out.
He also pointed to Rajasthan and Gujarat, which experienced temperatures rising up to 50 degrees Celsius in 2024, as examples.
"If the temperature retains its upward tendencies, it is projected that the GDP will come down by 19 percent as a result of manpower loss due to fatigue and health issues of the human resource," said Joshi.
According to him, India has already achieved 93.5 gigawatts of solar power from 2.3 GW, 10 years ago.
"The country has solar modules that have an installed capacity of producing 60GW. With 300 days of sunny days, a family of five people can comfortably use solar power for all their electrical gadgets," Joshi added.
Brijesh Chowta MP of Dakshina Kannada also spoke on the occasion.
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England''s improbable task: Can it chase down 435 to keep Ashes hopes alive?
Adelaide (AP): Ben Stokes and his England bowling attack did everything possible Saturday morning to keep the Ashes series alive, taking six Australian wickets for 78 runs and setting up a target of 435 to win the third cricket test.
It would take a world-record chase to win at the Adelaide Oval, but with a relatively flat wicket and five sessions remaining it wasn't entirely out of the question.
It didn't start well for England, with Australia skipper Pat Cummins taking a wicket with his second ball to remove Ben Duckett (4).
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At lunch on Day 4, England was 5-1 and needed 430 for an unlikely victory. Australia needed nine wickets to clinch the series with two tests to spare.
After losing the first two tests in Perth and Brisbane, England needs a victory to keep the five-match series alive. Australia needs only a draw to retain the Ashes.
Still, for England, it's a far better equation than it appeared at stumps on Day 3, when Australia reached 271-4 in its second innings, a lead of 356, with Travis Head unbeaten on 142 and Alex Carey on 52.
The Australians, already with a 2-0 series lead and needing only a draw in Adelaide to retain the Ashes, were all out for 349, a lead of 434. Travis Head's dismissal for 170 triggered a lower-order collapse, with the last six wickets falling for 38 in 11 overs.
The record test run chase was West Indies' 418 in a three-wicket win over Australia at Antigua in 2003.
England has successfully chased 370-plus targets twice to win against India in the last three years.
England's rallyMomentum was all Australia's way initially, even to the point of getting an extra run when a fielder's throw at the non-striker's end deflected and rolled away to allow the batters to return for 2.
Head raised his 150 soon after, and gave a very brisk wave ot the bat to acknowledge it.
His 219-run innings came when he pulled a short ball from Josh Tongue (4-70) high and deep into the outfield where Zak Crawley took a catch looking into the sun at deep mid-wicket.
The end of the 162-run fifth-wicket stand had Australia at 311-5 in the eighth over of Day 4.
Carey took the lead to 400 with a cut boundary off Stokes, leaving the England skipper grimacing and shaking his head.
Josh Inglis got a reprieve on 3 when he was adjudged lbw to Stokes but immediately reviewed and had the decision overturned. At that stage, Australia led by 409.
Stokes made a momentum-swinging breakthrough when he had Carey out for 72, tucking a short ball around the corner and caught at leg slip.
Brydon Carse (3-80) was on a hat-trick when he had Cummins (6) caught behind, stretching to swat a wider ball, and trapped Nathan Lyon lbw on the next ball.
No. 11 Scott Boland left a wide ball to deny England its first Ashes hat-trick since 1999, but he was out soon after when Jofra Archer (1-20) had him fending away a short ball and offering a return catch.
