Jharkhand Affairs
Jharkhand to add 320MW of power through four solar parks
At a time when the country is staring at power crisis due to the short supply of coal to thermal power stations,Jharkhandis preparing for the challenge by clearing the decks for installation of solar power. The total installed capacity of the state through renewables would supersede the indigenous installed capacity through non-renewables. Four solar parks of 80MWs each have been planned to be installed in Garhwa, Palamu, Simdega, and Deoghar. Tender has been floated to invite parties to conduct topography survey, geo-technical investigation, hydrological study and assessment of social and environmental impact over the plots selected for these solar parks.
At present, the only state-owned power generation unit is of Tenughat Vidyut Nigam Limited (TVNL), which is a thermal plant with an installed capacity of 2X210MWs, of which one unit is functional. Yet another operational unit is ofSubarn Rekha Hydel Power(SRHP) of 130MWs. Once the solar parks see the Light of the dayinstalled thermal capacity would remain at 420MWs whereas the installed capacity through renewables would reach 450MWs. As of now, around 52MW solar power Plants are operational.
The solar parks would be photovoltaic grid connected with the option of including storage. The ground mounted PV solar parks produce electricity during the day time and feed the electricity to the nearest grid whereas once connected with storage, power produced can be used as an alternate to the grid power in case of short supply.
National and International Affairs
Istanbul Airport(Worlds Best Airport Shopping and Most Family-Friendly Airport).
approves $250 mn loan for road safety
The World Bank has approved a $250 million loan to support the Government of India’s road safety programme for seven States under which a single accident reporting number will be set up to better manage post-crash events.
The India State Support Program for Road Safety, financed by the World Bank, will be implemented in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. The $250 million variable spread loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has a maturity of 18 years including a grace period of 5.5 years.
The project will also establish a national harmonised crash Database system in order to analyse accidents and use that to construct better and safer roads.
It will also fund Network expansion of basic and advanced life support ambulances and training of first responder caregivers to road crash victims on the spot.
The project will also provide incentives to the States to leverage private funding through Public Private PARTNERSHIP (PPP) concessions and pilot initiatives.
According to a World Bank study, road crashes are estimated to cost the Indian economy between 5% to 7% of GDP a year. Official government data show that each year road accidents in India kill about 1,50,000 people and injure another 4,50,000. More than half of the victims are pedestrians, cyclists, or motorcyclists and almost 84% of all fatalities are among road users between the working ages of 18-60 years.
India successfully conducts VL-SRSAM missile test off the coast of Odisha