Centre for Science and Environment masthead Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Donate

Cse In News

Cse In News

Pacific Green Provides Business Activities Update

Pacific Green Technologies, Inc. (the “Company” or “PGTK”) (OTCQB:PGTK), developer of the ENVI-Marine(TM) emission control system (the “System”), today provides an update on the impact of the Pandemic on its business activities. Since entering the marine sector, the Company has delivered 86 ENVIMarine( TM) Systems to its customers, with another 56 ENVI-Marine(TM) Systems contracted to be delivered in 2020 and 2021. Travel restrictions resulting from the Pandemic have impeded the Company’s ability to enter and exit shipyards. The Company has postponed 32 ENVI-Marine(TM) System installations to 2021 to accommodate client and supplier needs but has received no ENVI-Marine System cancellations as a result of the Pandemic. The Company can report the successful registration in China of its joint venture company with partner PowerChina SPEM. The joint venture, along with the ongoing integration of Shanghai Engin Digital Technology Co. Ltd., (“Engin”), which was acquired by PGTK in December 2019, has positioned the Company to take advantage of the rapidly growing renewables market around the world in concentrated solar power (CSP), desalination and waste-to-energy (WtE). The Company is also pleased to announce that it has made significant progress in developing its business relationships in India. By 2022, an additional 175 GW of electrical capacity in India is forecasted to require Flue Gas Desulphurization (FGD) (source: Centre for Science and Environment, India), which PGTK’s efficient ENVI-Clean(TM) Systems are well suited to deliver. The Company has continued its obligation to maintain shareholder value on behalf of its shareholders. The Company has embarked on an aggressive cost-cutting campaign and restructured its operations to maintain its strong financial position despite the global economic strain and uncertainty created by the Pandemic. Scott Poulter, Chief Executive, said: “We have been working hard with our clients and suppliers to ease the collective strain that the Pandemic has imposed on our business and the business of our partners and stakeholders. We are pleased to see increasing interest in our newly acquired solar and desalination technologies across a number of different regions. These opportunities will complement our highly-efficient emission control technologies, which have allowed us to target the massive FGD and WtE markets. The Pandemic has had a devastating effect on lives and livelihoods. Hopefully, the world will take a new look at how we live and how we treat our environment as the two should go hand in hand.” About Pacific Green Technologies, Inc. fPacific Green Technologies, Inc. (OTCQB:PGTK) is focused on addressing the world’s need for cleaner and more sustainable energy. The company’s strategy is to build through organic development and acquisition, a portfolio of patented competitive cutting-edge technologies designed to meet the growing market for renewables and increasingly stringent environmental standards. For more information, visit PGTK’s website: www.pacificgreentechnologies.com Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains “forwardlooking statements,” as that term is defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Statements in this news release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, the ongoing effects of the pandemic on delays and orders regarding Pacific Green’s emission control system, potential business developments in India and future interest in our solar and desalination technologies. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, general economic and political conditions, the continuation of the JV with POWERCHINA SPEM, and the ongoing impact of the pandemic. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this news release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our annual report on Form 10- K for the most recent fiscal year, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. |June 15, 2020

Multiple crises: The cost of wasted time

The link of these disparate events to climate change is incontrovertible Sunita Narain The world is paying for years of procrastination and prevarication. Already multiple back-breaking crises are unfolding, simply because we did not fix what was broken in the past. So, on the one hand, we are confronted with Covid- 19 — leading to both health crisis and massive economic collapse, driving down the livelihoods of the poorest and the most vulnerable. As we can see from the upheavals across the world — from India to the US — it is the poor (black or brown) who have been disproportionately hit by the virus. They have suffered twice: They lost lives to the contagion and they lost livelihoods. But even as this heart-breaking crisis is unfolding in front of our eyes, there is another looming disaster that is waving a red flag — climate change. In the last 15 days, the eastern side of India has been hit by a super cyclone, which has devastated lives and property. But this is not all, the western side — Covid-hit city of Mumbai had a near escape from Cyclone Nisarga — but coastal districts of Maharashtra were not so lucky. This, when we know the aftermath of these events is worse because it takes away the development dividend and years of investment in building infrastructure to improve the lives of people. But this is also not all. There are swarms of locusts already devouring fields in the western and now northern states of India and countries of Africa, and threaten to do much more damage in the coming months as their inexorable flight continues across the continents. The link of these disparate events to climate change is incontrovertible. What we are seeing today is the result of increased frequency and intensity of cyclones and variable and extreme rain events. This weather disruption is because of changes in temperatures on land and on sea. Not only is the number increasing and now, Indian scientists say there is “rapidification” of cyclones because of changes in temperature between land and sea. This, in turn, is adding to the force of destruction and the unpredictability of the event. The locust infestation is linked to this phenomenon. First in 2018, and then in 2019, there were a series of cyclones and extreme rain events in the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula and eastern Africa. Then, in 2019 and now in 2020, the same African regions and Indian deserts saw unseasonal rain and extended monsoons. The desert critter became ideal breeding grounds, and its growth went from what is called the individual stage to gregarious, and the infestation grew from being categorised as an outbreak to an upsurge. Much like Covid-19 — when the World Health Organization hummed and hawed about when it would upgrade the threat to pandemic — the Food and Agriculture Organization too is “considering” when to declare the locust upsurge as a plague. Covid-19 is the result of our progressively worsening dystopian relationship with nature. It is also the result of years of lost time, when we could have invested in public health and in building a more equitable society where the poor are not doubly hit. It is the same with climate change and every other issue that stares us in the face today. Too much time has been wasted in denial or just not to get our act together to function at the speed and scale that is needed. We do not have the luxury of time any more. My generation has squandered the privilege away. And, this, please be clear, is only the beginning. Right now, the poor in the world — in the rich or the emerging world — are the worst sufferers; they live on the margins of survival in the best of times. Now we are in the midst of the worst of times. But as I keep saying, Covid-19 and climate change teach us that we are as strong as the weakest link. So, what should we do? I can repeat all that we know. But I want to lay out, in my view, one non-negotiable fundamental that we must not do any more. We must not deny or cover up the problem. The multiple crises happening together are going to make the world more insecure; they will make governments yearn to be more authoritarian and intolerant. We are seeing it everywhere. In India, our top law officer has called people who draw attention to societal and governance problems vultures — likening critics to birds of prey. There is also a fine line between what governments consider needless denouncement and what they consider unnecessary during a national crisis — this then becomes that time when it is best to self-censor, otherwise it will weaken governmental resolve! But this will not do. We need more information, not less. We also need to know what is happening on the ground so that our actions can be guided better; so that we do not make mistakes or repeat them. Let’s always remember that Covid- 19 is a global pandemic today because scientists in China or at the WHO did not have the courage to speak truth to power. Making us all cheerleaders will not make the problem go away. It will exacerbate the many crises that are here to stay.

Atlas Cycles, the wheels of Indian childhood, has put the brakes on a glorious ride

The bicycle maker was forced to layoff staff & shut its last manufacturing unit on 3 June after it ran out of funds during the Covid lockdown. For many Indians, childhood meant an evening ritual of a ‘galli ka chakkar’ with their friends on their trusty Atlas Cycle. But the makers of what is possibly every Indian’s first set of wheels shut shop on 3 June 2020, ironically, on a day that is celebrated as World Bicycle Day. After 70 years of being not just in the business but in the fabric of India’s identity, the company was forced to shut its last manufacturing unit in Sahibabad, Uttar Pradesh, when it could no longer afford to run operations. While the company had been under financial pressure for a while, the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown was the last nail in the coffin. A notice on the factory gate greeted the staff: “We are facing difficulty in arranging funds for our day to- day operations. We are also unable to buy raw material. In these conditions, the management is not in a position to operate the factory.” The news broke many hearts. Many took to the internet to grieve for how a piece of their childhood was being taken away. Sunita Narain, an environmentalist and cycling enthusiast, said, “I used to ride an Atlas cycle in my childhood. It was synonymous with bicycles. We want more cycles on the roads so this news is really tragic.” Atlas Cycles was founded in 1950 by Janki Das Kapur, a man with a singular dream, to build quality cycles at affordable prices for his fellow Indians. From his modest beginnings, of building cycles in a shed in Sonepat, he set up his first factory complex, a 25-acre affair, in just a year. In the first year itself, the plant rolled out 12,000 cycles. Under his leadership, Atlas Cycles emerged as India’s largest cycle manufacturer by 1965. Janki Das Kapur gave up the reins for his son Jai Dev, who worked in tandem with joint presidents Girish Kapur and Gautam Kapur. Soon, Atlas became the official supplier of bicycles to the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi. After it expanded its production overseas, the company produced over 40 lakh bicycles each year. In 2003, Girish Kapur had revealed that the company enjoyed 28 per cent of the bicycle market in India. He added, “Atlas is the only Indian bicycle company with a complete manufacturing unit whose inhouse research and development unit has been recognised by the department of scientific and industrial research, Union Ministry of Science and Technology. The company has a modern paint application unit at Sahibabad.” The company philosophy of ‘employee empowerment’ has gone a long way, so much so that even former Atlas employees are heartbroken by the closure. Ashish Nagpal, who worked with the company for 19 years and now owns a cycling club called Cycle Sutra, said, “Having worked with Atlas as a brand head, the news was extremely painful and disheartening and gave me sleepless nights.” Also read: Boroline — the cure-all that is stuck in time but still brings joy, especially to Bengalis From utility-driven to rebel bike, women in the front seat The brand’s logo symbolises Greek Titan Atlas holding up the world on his shoulders. The company’s website reveals this is because “Atlas assimilates in itself aspirations of the millions in their progress and transition through various phases in their lives.” The advertisement campaigns of Atlas Cycles were vital in establishing the brand as a household name. One of the initial posters for the cycle promoted a utility serving product that came at an affordable price. Moreover, an overarching and rather refreshing theme in the first few advertisements was that they promoted women riding these cycles. Not only that, these women were clad in saris, putting paid simultaneously to the stereotype of women not being sporty and of saris being a hindrance to such activities. One of Atlas Cycles’ many vintage advertisements featuring women as the focus | Pinterest As the brand continued to build its name over the years, the focus of its campaign strategy changed. From establishing itself as a utility-driven brand that was affordable to all, it switched to promoting itself as the new adventure sport bike on the block. Tapping into the spirit of a rebel without a cause, Atlas launched the Rebel cycle. The ad features a young boy who, fed up of arguing with his father, takes a long ride across different terrains on his Rebel bike. Then came the breakthrough bike also known as Atlas Concorde, which came with 10 gears, something that was unheard of until then. With many new brands of wheels coming into the market, Atlas had to up its advertising game, which it did by jumping on the brand ambassador bandwagon. In 2004, it signed actor Suniel Shetty and tennis champ Sania Mirza as brand ambassadors, and allocated a separate budget of Rs 7 to 8 crores for this campaign. Also read: Chandrakanta, the show in which Irrfan won hearts four lines at a time The Atlas will ride back While this shutdown was a shock to many consumers, it had been a long time coming. The company first started making losses in 2014, which resulted in its Malanpur plant in Madhya Pradesh being shut. The company continued to record losses four years later, forcing its Sonepat plant shut in February 2018. And now, it has shut its last factory and laid off around 700 employees. But staying true to the spirit of Atlas, company CEO NP Singh Rana is confident that the closure and layoffs are temporary, and that the company will resume production once it is able to raise Rs 50 crores after selling surplus land. Rana said, “Demand is not a problem, the market is very good. We have a very strong dealer and supplier base. We are a 70-year-old brand and very well accepted in the market. We will bounce back.” The wheels for Atlas Cycles’ future have already been set in motion. Rana has explained that an application seeking to sell the surplus land has already been filed at the National Company Law Tribunal. He remains confident of the company’s future, saying, “Once we get the permission, we will sell off our surplus land and the surplus land money will be much higher to pay back all the dues of suppliers and our people and we will resume production.” Like our childhood’s galli ka chakkar, here’s hoping Atlas Cycles comes riding right back into India’s life – especially, given climate crisis and a pandemic, because eco-friendly wheels are truly the only way to move ahead. |June 14, 2020

India’s heatwaves will intensify four-fold by 2100, says its first climate assessment report

The report also warns of increased stress on the country’s natural resources. India’s average temperature has already increased by around 0.7 degree Celsius during the 1901–2018 period due to greenhouse gas emissions and by the end of 2100 it is expected to rise by approximately 4.4 degree Celsius – relative to 1976–2005 average, in the worst-case scenario – warns the first-ever climate change assessment report by the Indian government. The report Assessment of Climate Change over the Indian Region prepared by the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences or MoES warned that the rapid changes in the temperature would mean increasing stress on India’s “natural ecosystems, agricultural output, and freshwater resources, while also causing escalating damage to infrastructure.” This ultimately means a serious impact on “country’s biodiversity, food, water and energy security, and public health.” It said that several regions in India are global biodiversity hotspots with numerous endemic species of plants and animals and with the “climate changing more rapidly than the usual pace of evolutionary adaptability of many species, they may face increasing threats on account of these changes.” The global average temperature has risen by around one degree Celsius since preindustrial times. In 2015, at the Paris Agreement, the world decided to limit global warming to two degree Celsius below pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 degree Celsius. At current greenhouse gas emissions trajectories, global average temperature may rise 3-5 degree Celsius and perhaps higher if tipping points are triggered. The MoES report cautioned that by the end of 2100, the “frequency of summer [April–June] heat waves over India is projected to be three to four times higher” and the “average duration of heatwave events is also projected to approximately double.” The impact of heatwave stress is expected across India but particularly over the densely populated Indo-Gangetic river basin. According to the report, the sea surface temperature of the tropical Indian Ocean has also risen by one degree Celsius, on average, during 1951–2015, which is higher than the global average warming of 0.7 degree Celsius, over the same period. The rise in temperature is also playing havoc with India’s rainfall which is significant for India’s agriculture sector on which millions are dependent. The report noted that the summer monsoon precipitation (June to September) over India has declined by around six percent from 1951 to 2015, with notable decreases over the Indo-Gangetic Plains and the Western Ghats. “There has been a shift in the recent period toward more frequent dry spells [27% higher during 1981–2011 relative to 1951–1980] and more intense wet spells during the summer monsoon season,” said the report. It stressed that the overall decrease of seasonal summer monsoon rainfall during the last six to seven decades has led to an increased propensity for droughts over India. “Both the frequency and spatial extent of droughts have increased significantly during 1951–2016. In particular, areas over central India, Southwest coast, Southern peninsula and Northeastern India have experienced more than two droughts per decade, on average, during this period. The area affected by drought has also increased by 1.3% per decade over the same period. Climate model projections indicate a high likelihood of an increase in the frequency [more than two events per decade], intensity and area under drought conditions in India by the end of the 21st century,” said the MoES report. Climate change can increase the frequency of drought conditions in India. Credit: Christopher Michel/Flickr Climate scientist Roxy Mathew Koll of the Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, who is also the author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Oceans and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, explained to Mongabay-India that until now we were dependent on IPCC report for assessment of climate change but the problem is that it is a global overview and doesn’t include region-specific details. “We urgently needed something like that considering that rise in extreme weather events is already visible,” said Koll, who is one of the co-authors of the MoES report. “We required a report that quantified the changes on the regional scale and this report gives an overall view as to how climate change is happening in different spheres across India. Whether it is the changes over the Himalayas, the coastal areas, or the rainfall pattern, in this report we are quantifying it. Now we have the exact details as to what extent climate parameters are changing.” Severe impact on Himalayas The report highlights that the Hindu Kush Himalayas have experienced a temperature rise of about 1.3 degree Celsius during 1951–2014. “Several areas of HKH have experienced a declining trend in snowfall and also retreat of glaciers in recent decades. In contrast, the highelevation Karakoram Himalayas have experienced higher winter snowfall that has shielded the region from glacier shrinkage. By the end of the 21st century, the annual mean surface temperature over HKH is projected to increase by about 5.2 degree Celsius...human-induced climate change has led to accelerated warming of the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau at a rate of 0.2 degree Celsius per decade during 1951–2014,” said the report. It said that the future warming in the HKH region, “which is projected to be in the range of 2.6–4.6 degree Celsius” by the end of 2100, “will further exacerbate the snowfall and glacier decline leading to profound hydrological and agricultural impacts in the region.” Resources under stress The report by the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences observed that the impact of climate change on the availability of freshwater is a critical area of concern for India and the growing propensity for droughts and floods because of changing rainfall patterns caused by climate change would be “detrimental to surface and groundwater recharge, posing threats to the country’s water security.” “Likewise, the country’s food security may be placed under progressively greater pressure due to rising temperatures, heat extremes, floods, droughts and increasing year-to-year rainfall variability that can disrupt rain-fed agricultural food production and adversely impact crop yield,” the report warned. It further explained that the rising temperatures are also likely to increase energy demand for space cooling, which if met by thermal power would mean a further increase in greenhouse gas emissions. Rising temperatures leading to change in rainfall pattern resulting in floods is also a cause of concern. Credit: Ceekaypee/Wikimedia Commons “In addition, thermal power plants require substantial amounts of water for cooling to generate electricity. Power plants sited inland draw freshwater largely from dam reservoirs, rivers and canals. A rise in water withdrawal by power plants would directly compete with water withdrawal for agriculture and domestic consumption, particularly in water-stressed areas. On the other hand, power plants sited around the coast that use seawater for cooling are vulnerable to damage from sea-level rise, cyclones, and storm surge,” said the report adding that this could mean that climate change could impact the “reliability of the country’s energy infrastructure and supply.” Forests and urban spaces According to the MoES report, India’s climate change adaptation and mitigation response is achievable by a greater emphasis on widening observational networks, sustained monitoring, expanding research on regional changes in climate and their impacts, and by continued investment in education and outreach programmes. “For instance, networks of tide gauges with GPS along the Indian coastline would help monitor local changes in sea level, climate models would help project future changes, and outreach would help inform the requisite adaptation measures in coastal communities and cities. Outreach and communication of climate change risk to district and village-level communities would facilitate water-harvesting and farming decisions needed to adapt to a changing climate,” it explained. The report stressed that as “cities being uniquely impacted by heat stress and localised flooding”, there is a pressing need for research and strategies that are directed towards “improving resilience in Indian cities.” Koll stressed that oceanic changes are an important area and the report focuses on that. “The origin of many of the extreme events, rainfall, cyclones, heatwaves, sealevel rise is the oceanic changes. The reason is that they absorb about 93 percent heat from global warming and then respond to it. For instance, the intensity cyclones hitting India’s coasts are intensifying quite rapidly. There are many gaps in our ocean observations and we need to plug them by improving observations both over coastal regions and in the open ocean,” said Koll. He further said that the first assessment report by them takes care of the physical aspects of climate change while the next one could focus on how these changes are impacting sectors like agriculture, food, water and power. The report emphasised that low impact development and green building infrastructure can reduce both urban heating and air pollution. “A reduction in air pollution would greatly benefit human and environmental health, improve the efficiency of solar energy generation, and even potentially aid in increasing the quantum of monsoon rainfall over India. An increase in rainfall together with measures for water harvesting would aid the restoration of groundwater levels,” it added. Anumita Roychowdhury, of the Centre for Science and Environment, a Delhi-based environment think-tank, said, with this report the government is officially recognising the interconnectedness of the diverse nature environmental impacts and its deep link with climate change. “This report reinforces the idea that we need alignment at the policy and implementation level across sectors that have an impact on the environment. This is absolutely critical as different sectors cannot remain in silos anymore. Post this report, we look forward to well-defined indicators for an aligned action with focused policy interventions and effective leveraging of resources and budgets to deliver on a larger goal. This should be the basis of the action of the government going forward,” Roychowdhury told Mongabay-India. The report suggested that policymakers focus on forests and urban green spaces. It said that aside from mitigating climate change through carbon sequestration, trees also enhance resilience to flash floods and landslides, improve resilience to droughts, improve the resilience of coastal infrastructure, reduce vulnerability to extreme heat by reducing ambient temperatures, and support native wildlife and biodiversity. “In short, forests and urban green spaces will deliver substantial economic benefits to the country by mitigating a wide range of the expected impacts of climate change in India and is the safest, most reliable means of realising several of India’s sustainable development goals,” the report said. Aarti Khosla, who is the director of Climate Trends, told Mongabay-India that the “report is a good step as it finally lays to rest all confusion about the relationship of climate change with extreme weather events and climate vulnerabilities in terms of increase in droughts and lean rainfall period etc.” “However, at the time of post-Covid-19 lockdown, when the focus is on economic recovery, it stops short of establishing linkages between the importance of sustainable and green recovery,” said Khosla while explaining that the report should have focused properly on the importance of pursuing economic growth which is sustainable for the planet. She said such scientific evidence will prove useful to simplify and educate the citizens on what is happening to our environment. “The pandemic has revealed that society does have a collective conscience and people are ready to shift their attitudes. The impacts of climate change don’t fall evenly and will have to be communicated across the vast swathes of our population,” Khosla said. | June 24, 2020

Painting Tools - Market Size, Growth Forecast 2020 to 2025

A new report on Painting Tools market that provides a comprehensive review of this industry with respect to the driving forces influencing the market size. Comprising the current and future trends defining the dynamics of this industry vertical, this report also incorporates the regional landscape of Painting Tools market in tandem with its competitive terrain. Rise in construction of smart commercial buildings along with shifting trend towards visibly striking textures smart homes, fueling the need for rollers and spray guns owing to their large surface area coverage. Positive application outlook providing smooth finish which improves the overall aesthetic appearance, also propelling the business growth. Furthermore, increasing DIY in painting is becoming popular particularly among developed economies such as U.S. and Europe which in return will foster myriad of opportunities for the overall painting tools market. Increasing demand for the modern painting tools due to its easy availability, consumer-friendly, and low-cost features as compared to the other conventional equipments will foster new opportunities for the painting tools market growth. Factors such as improved aesthetic appeal of walls, less wastage of paints, and ease in paint application on walls & ceilings will enhance the industry landscape. In addition, rising per capita income of the consumers owing to the significant development in the overall GDP of the countries will further enhance the business expansion. Request Sample Copy of this Report @ https://www.cuereport.com/requestsample/ 2251 Furniture application is anticipated to surpass USD 900 million by 2025 in the overall painting tools market over the forecast period. Growing demand for the household & institutional furniture owing to the changing home decorations and interior design trends will provide positive scope for the segment growth. Additionally, escalating furniture demand in houses and other commercial buildings for making comfortable living & working environment will further proliferate the application scope in the overall market. Stringent regulations & norms pertaining to the increased usage of water-based paints for the significant reduction of VOC emissions in several manufacturing processes will provide positive scope for the painting tools market growth. Additionally, rising awareness of poison free environment along with initiatives by Centre for Science and Environment has supported in regulating standards on usage on paintings and coatings in India, thus driving the business growth. North America is anticipated to surpass USD 2.5 billion in the overall painting tools market up to 2025. Rapid expansion of construction & automotive industry owing to the increasing technological innovation and advancements will boost industry in the region. For instance, construction application in North America accounted for over 70% share of the overall business in 2018. Additionally, surging demand of paints from the automobiles sector due to the increased annual production of the vehicles will further propel the market share across the region over the projected timeframe. Scrapers product will observe significant gains exceeding 5.5% in the global painting tools market over the projected time period. Scrapers are majorly used for trueing a surface or for a particular decorative finish. Rapid growth in the construction activities across the developing countries such as UAE, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia owing to the increasing population and growing trends in the home d?cor segment will promulgate the product scope in the industry. Painting tools market is highly competitive in nature owing to the presence of several global and regional players. Major companies present in the industry include Asian Paints, Gordon Brush, Dura Paints, and Nespoli Group. Other prominent players include Mill-Rose Company, Braun Brush, Purdy, Anderson Products, Milton Brushware, and Richard Tools. The leading companies are making significant investments in certain technological & innovative advancements for strengthening their foothold in the overall painting tools market across the globe. Mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic collaborations, and product enhancements are the among the major strategies that are adopted by the key industry players. For instance, on 21st March 2019, Gordon Brush announced the acquisition of Spectrum Paint Applicator Corp., a leading producer of consumer & industrial paint brushes. Increasing demand for the modern painting tools due to its easy availability, consumer-friendly, and low-cost features as compared to the other conventional equipments will foster new opportunities for the painting tools market growth. Factors such as improved aesthetic appeal of walls, less wastage of paints, and ease in paint application on walls & ceilings will enhance the industry landscape. In addition, rising per capita income of the consumers owing to the significant development in the overall GDP of the countries will further enhance the business expansion. Rise in construction of smart commercial buildings along with shifting trend towards visibly striking textures smart homes, fueling the need for rollers and spray guns owing to their large surface area coverage. Positive application outlook providing smooth finish which improves the overall aesthetic appearance, also propelling the business growth. Furthermore, increasing DIY in painting is becoming popular particularly among developed economies such as U.S. and Europe which in return will foster myriad of opportunities for the overall painting tools market. Stringent regulations & norms pertaining to the increased usage of water-based paints for the significant reduction of VOC emissions in several manufacturing processes will provide positive scope for the painting tools market growth. Additionally, rising awareness of poison free environment along with initiatives by Centre for Science and Environment has supported in regulating standards on usage on paintings and coatings in India, thus driving the business growth. Scrapers product will observe significant gains exceeding 5.5% in the global painting tools market over the projected time period. Scrapers are majorly used for trueing a surface or for a particular decorative finish. Rapid growth in the construction activities across the developing countries such as UAE, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia owing to the increasing population and growing trends in the home d?cor segment will promulgate the product scope in the industry. Furniture application is anticipated to surpass USD 900 million by 2025 in the overall painting tools market over the forecast period. Growing demand for the household & institutional furniture owing to the changing home decorations and interior design trends will provide positive scope for the segment growth. Additionally, escalating furniture demand in houses and other commercial buildings for making comfortable living & working environment will further proliferate the application scope in the overall market. North America is anticipated to surpass USD 2.5 billion in the overall painting tools market up to 2025. Rapid expansion of construction & automotive industry owing to the increasing technological innovation and advancements will boost industry in the region. For instance, construction application in North America accounted for over 70% share of the overall business in 2018. Additionally, surging demand of paints from the automobiles sector due to the increased annual production of the vehicles will further propel the market share across the region over the projected timeframe. Painting tools market is highly competitive in nature owing to the presence of several global and regional players. Major companies present in the industry include Asian Paints, Gordon Brush, Dura Paints, and Nespoli Group. Other prominent players include Mill-Rose Company, Braun Brush, Purdy, Anderson Products, Milton Brushware, and Richard Tools. The leading companies are making significant investments in certain technological & innovative advancements for strengthening their foothold in the overall painting tools market across the globe. Mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic collaborations, and product enhancements are the among the major strategies that are adopted by the key industry players. For instance, on 21st March 2019, Gordon Brush announced the acquisition of Spectrum Paint Applicator Corp., a leading producer of consumer & industrial paint brushes.

Remembering A. Vaidyanathan, the Scholar Who Changed the Role of Data in India

Rescued during the 26/11 siege at the Taj in Mumbai, the professor had promptly taken the very flight he was booked on to return to work. Around seven in the morning there were two messages, two minutes apart. The first said “good morning” and the next said “Some sad news. Prof. Vaidyanathan passed away late last night, early this morning”. It is taking time to sink in, but there is no other way this news of professor Vaidyanathan’s passing could have been delivered. With a perfunctory ‘good morning’, and then a matter-of-fact news. That was what Vaidyanathan would have wanted and certainly not this write-up about him that I am undertaking. But, unlike many of my contemporaries who were his students and part-feared, part-adored and part-respected him, I could take more liberties for not having received my formal training from him. I was his student in an informal way, and even an optional student. I got to meet him, know him and work with him all at the same time when I was appointed on the Vaidyanathan Task Force on co-operative reform. I had heard about him from some of my colleagues, followed his work – particularly the sharp articles he would write in the Economic and Political Weekly. When I was put on to the committee, I was warned, “Watch out, he is a task master and he has a sharp tongue, not easy to work with him”. Having worked with him and interacted with him all these years, I really did not know where this came from. Yes, he was meticulous, stickler to data and its interpretation, but was quite an endearing personality. Friendly, caring, warm and non-hierarchical. And the most endearing part of it was that there was a certain easy attitude about himself. “If you cut his veins, you will find data flowing instead of blood,” one of his students told me, and I was soon to realise that. In the first meeting of the task force, he said that we would need the services of a statistician for helping the committee to navigate through the data. This was the first time that I had heard that a task force would summon the services of a statistician! While, the secretariat for the committee was National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, people in Reserve Bank of India (RBI) obliged and deputed a senior officer from the statistical department to be with the committee. While the committee did run some regressions and looked at the available data, he and the rest of us were really sad at the type of data that was available. So much so that we made a mention of it indicating that the report was based on dodgy data! It was not the days when data was suppressed, but those when some data was just not collected. One of the recommendations of the committee was to make better data available. On the other hand, we the research community, should be thankful to him for ensuring that the RBI has a dedicated data warehouse and that data can be accessed at a granular level. This database is the direct result of Vaidyanathan’s intervention in 2003 when he was appointed the Chair of Expert Group on Central Database Management System. The RBI press release indicated that the data was placed in the public domain before the recommendations of the committee! But these activities and adventures were only much later in his career – a career that spanned academia and practice, what is cherished most is his association with Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram and later Madras Institute of Development Studies. He also worked with National Council for Applied Economic Research, the Food and Agriculture Organisation and as a full time member of the planning commission. After the submission of the Vaidyanathan Committee report, he was inducted as a member of the central board of Reserve Bank of India. He nurtured generations of young researchers. Every third sentence in a conversation would move towards data, analysis and what one could argue based the findings. While he worked on a range of issues – agriculture, credit, labour and co-operatives – what marked out was his work on water and his collaboration in closely working with Centre for Science and Environment on climate change related issues. Two anecdotes summarise his being. He was in the Taj Mahal hotel (having attended the Central Board meeting of RBI) on the day of the Mumbai terror attacks. When I came to know that he was there and had safely moved to Chennai, I called him to enquire about his well-being. He dismissed the experience by an imaginary wave of hand (on telephone) and said, “There is a piece on The Hindu about my experiences, read it. Now tell me what are you doing about your field level data from Rajasthan, when are you going to get this out?” The piece in The Hindu is even more revealing. He is in the heritage block, where all the action is happening and he gets to know of it by switching on the television in the same hotel. He is rescued at 3 am, and on his way out, he gets into his trousers, packs his clothes in his bags, and takes the morning flight that he was booked on! In 2017, he sent an 80-page manuscript with this message: “Attached are reminiscences of my professional life and work. As a close friend and one who has been closely involved in wide ranging discussions over the years, I want to share them with you. I need to emphasis that these are not meant for wider circulation.” I wrote back to him a bit disappointed that there was no mention of the Vaidyanathan Committee in this write up. Also, very little personal detail. He said, “This is about professional life not the fluff one did, you just don’t get it. It is not an autobiography, it is only professional work.” The work of the Vaidyanathan committee had brought me near Vaidyanathan and helped me to foster a friendship that was cherished for a long time. The work of the committee was indeed of very high quality – it meant much to many people – and looked like one of the last hopes for the revival of co-operatives. As we were finalising the report, Dr Y.V. Reddy who was then the governor of RBI, volunteered to chair the implementation committee – a commitment shown at that level was somewhat rare. As much discussion was happening on the implementation mechanisms, the Finance Minister announced a farm loan waiver programme. Possibly, that was the end of hope. Reddy was no longer interested in the implementation committee and Vaidyanathan said, “It is over, let us move on”. That could have been one of the reasons that this work did not find mention in his reminiscences. In his passing we have lost an eminent economist, a great and open mind, a guru and an intellectual. I have lost a friend and a guide, and of course, a down-toearth, here-and-now philosopher.

Pedestrianisation project on the cards

New Delhi: Public places will need to become more suited for pedestrians and walking and cycling networks will need to be expanded in a post-Covid world, the Union housing and urban affairs ministry said in an advisory to states, asking them to redesign some market places as part of a pedestrianisation experiment. The initiative comes at a time when experts fear increased infection risk in mass transit, which in India is usually crowded at rush hours. Experts and officials handling policy in these areas believe those that can will switch to personal transport, which could have implications for pollution as well as congestion. “COVID-19 has brought cities around the world to a halt. Public transport is either shut or very limited in many cities. Movement of private motor vehicles is controlled. However, cities have benefitted from cleaner air. As cities look to ease the lockdown, the need of the hour is to provide safe, affordable and equitable modes of transport and also ensure physical distancing,” the advisory said. The ministry has asked states to select at least three market places in cities with million-plus population for the ‘pedestrianisation’ plan. For cities with fewer than a million people, at least one market area has to be redesigned and the selections need to be done by the end of this month, the ministry said in the advisory, seen by HT. “This will require proper survey of space used in the present scenario by various stakeholders. A movement/direction plan has to be prepared to see that there are designated walking paths where visitors are able to follow social distancing,” it said. Once the plan is made and firmed up, cities may start implementing it in two phases: measures that can be done in the short-term and those that will need more time. “Short-term recommendations include interventions that are quick, temporary, east to install, and ensure safety to commuters after the lockdown. The market spaces could be rearranged with quick and temporary measures such as barricades, road closure for vehicles, etc…On-street parking space or even carriageway lanes can be re-purposed for more walking and waiting space…Cyclists may be allowed with dedicated/earmarked pathways,” it said. Access ways motor vehicles for area residents should be clearly delineated and municipal bodies may increase the width of foot paths of the streets leading to the market, it added, while also recommending provisions for high frequency public transit. According to the ministry, redesigning vending spaces provides a good opportunity for innovations and long-term local authorities can begin working on long-term permanent structures to increase pedestrianisation once short-term steps prove effective. The planning, which the government described as needing to be holistic, can be done over the next three months till September 30 but a survey of vendors and others users of a market should be done by July 31. “By the end of September 2020, a plan may be formalised to start implementation. Short term measures such as temporary barricading, closure of roads for traffic, earmarking spaces, etc. to assess the plan on the field may be started in the first week of October 2020. The assessment of the implemented plan through short term measures may be done by November 2020 and amendments as required ma be completed by November 2020,” it added. Experts welcomed the initiative. “This is a very important step and we should move quickly on it. If you look at cities around the world—London, New York etc, they are all moving shorter trips to cycling and walking which are contact-free and make mobility safer. They also reduce pressure on already stressed public transport systems that will have to operate under social distancing norms. In urban India about nearly 48% of daily trip are below a distance of 5 KM and this is a big opportunity for India to move these short trips towards cycling and to promote it as an independent mode of travel. With the advisory we will have a clear map into transitioning towards pedestrianisation,” said Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director (research and advocacy), Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).

Antimicrobial resistance is also a pandemic of epic proportions: CSE

AMR accounts for 7,00,000 deaths every year the world over Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) accounts for 7,00,000 deaths every year the world over and by 2050, if the world does not take any action, 10 million lives will be at risk annually from this phenomenon, and 90% of them in Asia and Africa. This emerged out of a webinar – ‘Pandemics and industrial food animal farming’ – organised here on Wednesday by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The meet was addressed by Haileysus Getahun, director, Global Coordination and Partnership on AMR, Tripartite Joint Secretariat on AMR, World Health Organisation (WHO), Anuj Sharma, technical officer-AMR, Labs and IPC, WHO Country Office for India, Sunita Narain, Director General, CSE, among others. “In a year where a pandemic is ruling the roost, it is important to realise that AMR — the phenomenon which makes disease-causing germs resistant to the drugs designed to kill them — is also a pandemic of epic proportions, and needs immediate intervention,” said Ms. Narain. Also read: Battling anti-microbial resistance CSE also released its publication, ‘Body Burden: Antibiotic Resistance – A State of India’s Health’ on the occasion. Amit Khurana, Programme Director, Food Safety and Toxins, CSE, said food that we eat was increasingly being produced in intensive industrial settings. “This is the norm in high income countries of the world, while in low and middle income countries, intensification is happening due to the growing animal protein demand,” he said. CSE has recommend a ban on antibiotic use for growth promotion while reducing need for chemicals by focusing on animal husbandry, bio-security, alternatives, diagnostics, and veterinary extension systems.

To Resume Public Transport, Experts Suggest Staggered Timings, Bus Lanes, Tech Systems

public transport services halted during the lockdown, technology-enabled systems, the optimal use of existing capacities and staggered commuting can help ensure social distancing and crowd management to prevent the spread of Covid-19, experts tell IndiaSpend. With the emphasis on physical distancing and as a measure to save time, this would mean increase Maximising Capacity “Reopening would essentially mean maximising operations based on what you have immediately,” said Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy at the Centre for Science and Environment. One way to maximise available capacity is to create priority bus lanes that will facilitate greater turnaround time, she suggested.

Locusts feast on India's woes as swarms spread

By ARUNAVA DAS in Kolkata, India | China Daily | Hit by disease and wild weather, country stretched in battle with insect invaders As if the coronavirus outbreak, the resultant lockdown and Cyclone Amphan that recently ravaged parts of the country were not enough, India finds itself imperiled by thick swarms of desert locusts. Swathes of farmland in the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Punjab are being invaded by millions of the pests on a cropdevouring spree, potentially ruining food supplies. Keith Cressman, senior locust forecasting officer at the Food and Agriculture Organization, or FAO, of the United Nations, said there have been movements of adult locusts in India, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Uganda in recent days. "Successive waves of invasions can be expected until July in Rajasthan (bordering Pakistan) with eastward surges across northern India followed by westward movements and a return to Rajasthan on the changing winds associated with the monsoon," Cressman said. Much of these movements were associated with strong westerly winds from Cyclone Amphan in the Bay of Bengal, he said. India has struggled to curb the spread of the pandemic. It has reported fresh highs in the number of confirmed infections, of about 9,000 a day over the past days, pushing the total to 258,090 by Monday, according to a tally kept by the Johns Hopkins University. The locusts, though not a new phenomenon, worry experts this time because of the frequency and ferocity of their attacks. The swarms, which are the thickest and the largest in two and a half decades, are aided by frequent cyclones, unusually warm weather, and more rain－all offshoots of climate change, said Sunita Narain, director-general of the New Delhibased research organization Centre for Science and Environment, also works as a think tank. "We must try and understand what is happening, and why it is happening … why this huge scourge of locusts is linked to climate change," Narain said. Noticeable change "In fact, there has been a noticeable change in the way invasions are happening. Much of this can be ascribed to unseasonal rainfall, not just in India but in other breeding grounds." More rain in deserts, and more vegetation, make a perfect breeding ground for these creatures, she said. "And the monsoon was quite prolonged last year." FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu has warned that things will get worse. Juvenile locusts will become voracious adults in June just as farmers begin to harvest, compounding an already bleak outlook for food security. Qu also noted that recent heavy rains have created ideal conditions for the pest's reproduction in several countries, including India and Pakistan. Increasing cyclone activity in the Indian Ocean could be a trend that will result in heavy rains in the Arabian Peninsula and parts of Africa, and that, in turn, is leading to more desert locust upsurges, he noted in an FAO statement. In a highly interdependent world, Narain said, "we urgently require a global consensus and framework to combat the menace". Cressman called for coordinated and concerted action. He said national locust authorities in Iran, Afghanistan, India and Pakistan are in touch through weekly video calls under FAO guidance. Meanwhile, pesticides are being used for controlling the movement of locusts, prompting some experts to point out that a few pesticides are extremely toxic. "Not only can they harm humans, they can also impact soil fertility and crops," said G.V. Ramanjaneyulu, executive director at the Hyderabad-based Centre for Sustainable Agriculture. Ashok Gulati, professor for agriculture at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, an economic policy think tank, said that fortunately, most of the crops have been harvested, which means less severe losses.

Environmental refocusing: crucial and immediate

Meena Janardhan After struggling to deal with the pandemic and the social and economic effects of the lockdown, countries are now slowly opening up and reinventing the wheel. And, as the world virtually celebrated World Environment Day (WED) on 5 June, it is extremely crucial and essential that every government refocuses and reprioritises ecological and environmental threats. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) points out that as nations of the world strive to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s WED brings into sharp focus the importance of fundamentally shifting humanity’s relationship with nature to preserve our societies and prevent future pandemics. Several initiatives were announced across the globe to commemorate the WED – but the need is to see them through and to revive and strengthen earlier and existing ones too. In India, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and the India office of the UNEP announced an urban forest programme in 200 cities, while the UNEP and TED-Ed’s “Earth School” was incorporated into the Ministry of Human Resources’ digital platform for teachers, DIKSHA. Called the Nagar van (urban forest) scheme, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change said that the aim is to develop 200 urban forests across the country in next five years with a renewed focus on people’s participation and collaboration between forest departments, municipal bodies, NGOs, corporates and local citizens. A film played during India’s WED celebrations narrated how the initiatives of Pune residents along with the forest department and local bodies has converted 16.8 ha of a barren hill into green forests. Today, the forest is rich in biodiversity with 23 plant species, 29 bird species, 15 butterfly species, 10 reptiles and 3 mammal species. The Warje Urban Forest project is now helping maintain ecological balance, serving both environmental and social needs and is a role model for the rest of the country. The WED is the United Nations’ biggest event advocating for environmental action and the need to protect our planet. Since it was first observed in 1974, the event has grown to become a global platform for public outreach on the environment in over 100 countries. This year Colombia and Germany cohosted the main WED celebrations, streamed live online from Bogotá. Colombian President Iván Duque Márquez and Inger Andersen, Under-Secretary- General of the United Nations and UNEP Executive Director, led global calls to declare it “Time #ForNature,” a call to action to combat the accelerating species loss and degradation of the natural world. “This year, we cannot take to the beaches, forests and streets. We must stay at home, keep our distance and mark World Environment Day virtually. This is because we all stand in solidarity with those suffering from the global pandemic. We need to protect the sick, the poor and the vulnerable from the worst ravages of this disease. While these online celebrations are a tribute to human commitment and ingenuity, the fact that we have to do it this way means something is terribly wrong with human stewardship of the Earth. This virus is not bad luck, or a one-off event that nobody could see coming. It is an entirely predictable result of humanity’s destruction of nature – which will cause far greater suffering if left unchecked,” Andersen said. Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment released its statistical ecompendium on ‘State of India’s Environment’ to mark WED 2020. The book brings out the massive scale of the economic impact of the pandemic. It states that lockdowns have adversely affected almost 1.6 billion (76%) of the world’s informal work-force and that the pandemic has put 265 million people at risk of starvation. The report highlights that for the first time in 22 years, global poverty levels will rise. Around 50% of the global population is under lockdown or containment with little or no new income – 40-60 million people would be living in extreme poverty in the coming months due to loss of income. India will add 12 million more poor, the highest in the world, to its shattered population. A comprehensive study of the status on the progress of sustainable development goals (SDGs), state of forests, groundwater development, wasteland, and livestock, the e-compendium shows that India is lagging behind in meeting nine of the 17 SDGs. It adds that Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh are some of the best governed states – based on their performance in 10 key sectors. | June 10, 2020

To Resume Public Transport, Experts Suggest Staggered Timings, Bus Lanes, Tech Systems

Mumbai: As India’s cities gradually revive their public transport services halted during the lockdown, technology-enabled systems, the optimal use of existing capacities and staggered commuting can help ensure social distancing and crowd management to prevent the spread of COVID-19, experts tell IndiaSpend. With the emphasis on physical distancing and as a measure to save time, this would mean increased use of automatic and digital payment systems, and mobilephone based applications to provide alerts on vehicular traffic and crowd congestion, experts said. Daily, weekly and monthly passes at lower prices across various transport options would encourage greater use of public transport. Mobility patterns in India witnessed a change during the prolonged lockdown, with travel restrictions and freeze on transport facilities. Movement of people to public transport hubs such as subways and bus and train stations fell by 52%, according to a May 16 COVID-19 Community Mobility Report by Google. Mobility to workplaces declined by 41%, and to places of residence rose by 22%. “This is a big opportunity for the public transport system to move towards automatic and digital payment systems,” Madhav Pai, India director for the WRI Ross Centre for Sustainable Cities, told IndiaSpend. “Many major cities have resisted opting for automatic or digital payments over the years. Use of digital payments will stop cash leakage in the system and will provide data that will help plan our systems in a much better way.” The challenge is to resume public transport systems without undoing the benefits of the lockdown that enforced social distancing. “If you are not able to maintain social distancing, you run the risk of losing all that you have achieved so far,” said Om Srivastava, an infectious disease expert based in Mumbai. There could be a spurt in cases and new containment areas may come up with unplanned resumption of public transport services, he warned. In normal times, India’s public bus sector operated 170,000 buses that transport 70 million people every day, while metro services are functional in 10 cities, having a daily ridership of 4.6 million, with 525 stations and an operational network of over 700 km. Digitising systems In March 2019, the central government launched the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) or the One Nation One Card (ONOC) for transport mobility based on the debit/credit/prepaid card platform, which can be used across segments such as metro, bus, suburban railways, toll, parking, smart city and retail. In May 2020, the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited called for tenders to introduce NCMC, in a move to encourage cashless travel. In December 2019, the government had informed parliament that 11 transport agencies in the country were using NCMC facilities. Digital payment services will discourage physical exchange of currency while purchasing bus and train tickets, said Deepak Baindur, a transport and mobility consultant and former assistant professor in the faculty of Planning and Public Policy, CEPT University, Ahmedabad. The ONOC should be “extensively implemented” across cities in all public transport services, he said. Likewise, the government in December 2019 made implementation of FASTags mandatory for all vehicles to collect fees at toll plazas in a move to ensure swift movement of vehicles, saving fuel, time and to avoid traffic jams. Baindur also proposed solutions similar to Google Maps on mobile apps that can indicate crowd congestion levels as well as forecast passenger waiting time in buses or trains at each stop or station that can be useful for commuters to make informed choices. This can be done through CCTV cameras (by measuring crowd density and calculating real-time data), Intelligent Transportation System (advanced electronic/wireless-based transportation technologies for safety, communication and mobility systems), telematics and social media platforms including mobile apps to communicate, said Baindur. The government is implementing the “Integrated Sustainable Urban Transport Systems for Smart Cities”, across three smart cities--Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, and Kochi. Under this project, standard operating procedures have been compiled for the bus transport system post the COVID-19 lockdown to ensure safety measures. Mumbai’s challenge Mumbai, the country’s financial capital, has been the worst affected city nationwide, with more than 48,500 cases and 1,636 deaths as of June 7, 2020, more than any other city or state in India. Getting the city back to normalcy will be critical to the country’s economy. This is a challenge for a city with a population of over 12.8 million that is largely dependent on public transport for commuting. Mumbai’s local trains carry over 8 million passengers daily. On its single journey, a local train carries about 3,500 people when it is supposed to carry 1,800 passengers, Pai of WRI pointed out. During the pandemic, with the need for maintaining social distancing, it should carry only 900 passengers, he estimated. “Services should be opened up in a systematic way,” said Satish Mathur, former director general of police, Maharashtra and joint commissioner of police (traffic) Mumbai. “The city can be mapped onto grids, identifying office areas and complexes that will operate on alternate days. This is workable and will help minimise overcrowding.” Maharashtra: Phase-wise opening and easing of restrictions The Maharashtra government has begun easing restrictions on activities in a phased manner from June 2020. Maharashtra is the worst-hit COVID-19 state in India, with 85,975 total confirmed cases, of which 43,601 active cases. In the first ongoing phase, physical exercises such as cycling, jogging will be permitted in public spaces between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m. The second phase that started June 5, permitted markets and shops (except malls) to open on odd-even dates on alternate sides of the street. In the third phase that started June 8, private offices can work with no more than 10% strength. Public and private transport will operate in a limited manner: two-wheelers with no pillion riders; three- and fourwheelers with 1 + 2 passengers. Intradistrict buses, but not inter-district, will be allowed with maximum 50% capacity. Metro rail services and international air travel are prohibited except those specified through separate orders. “The initial phase should be without local trains; we will have to manage public transport by road,” said Ashok Datar, chairperson, Mumbai Environmental Social Network, a think-tank on urban issues focusing on road-based public transport. The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) will have to operate more intelligently with a timetable that should take care of the crowd commuting through local trains, he added. Per day, BEST operates 2,865 buses carrying 2.2 million passengers, on average. The virus being highly contagious not only poses a risk to passengers but also those providing these services. By May 25, as many as 200 BEST employees--70% of them from the transport division such as drivers and conductors--have tested positive for COVID-19 and half of them have recovered. If local trains remain closed, the city would need around 5,000 buses to cater to peak-hour demand, said Datar. For this he suggested pressing into service private and school buses. Further, for social distancing, experts suggest reducing the capacity of BEST buses to less than 50%. They recommend setting up “priority bus lanes” for buses to ply faster and make more trips, and implementing the “odd and even rule” for vehicles to manage the traffic on roads. Though experts have suggested implementing priority bus lanes, similar efforts earlier in cities like Delhi, Bengaluru and Pune have not been very effective, reports suggest. Maximising capacity “Reopening would essentially mean maximising operations based on what you have immediately,” said Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy at the Centre for Science and Environment. One way to maximise available capacity is to create priority bus lanes that will facilitate greater turnaround time, she suggested. “We also need to have strategies to cut down on unnecessary travel for reducing the demand on the already stressed system,” Roy Chowdhury said. For this, alternative solutions such as work from home, staggered timings and roster-based attendance should be institutionalised across cities, she said. Walking and cycling for shorter trips should be encouraged with scaling up of infrastructure to further take the pressure off from public transport, she added. Opening up public transport services Metro railways could hire private security personnel for crowd management. On a pilot basis, fast train services should be resumed first and these should stop only at stations where most commuters board or alight. Slow services can be resumed gradually on assessing demand. The relevant authorities must ensure thermal screening at key bus and railway stations. No standing commutes should be allowed, and alternate seating be practised in trains and buses. Passengers without face masks should not be allowed entry onto buses and railway platforms. Corporate and government offices should hire public bus services on a contract basis for their employees in order to minimise the use of private vehicles and ease traffic jams. Shuttle or feeder bus services should be organised from railway/metro stations to the designated offices in business or industrial areas. Cities should introduce stronger parking regulations in the city with more pay-andpark facilities to manage better traffic. Cities must generate traffic and safety awareness among citizens on the upcoming or ongoing changes. Source: Interviews with experts The government on May 7, 2020, shared guidelines drafted by the Delhi-based Central Road Research Institute for safe opening up of roads and vehicles. The report, ‘Public Transport and Feeder Modes considering Social Distancing Norms’, suggested various approaches-- redesigning mobility facilities that enable social distancing, reducing demand, capacity enhancement and encouraging social distancing measures on footpaths, metro stations, bus stops, e-rickshaws, autos and taxis. Cycling, informal services Limiting the use of local trains and focussing on personal/public transport vehicles could congest city roads and parking lots, said Mathur, especially in Mumbai. Cycling is a good alternative, experts said. “The use of bicycles is a good way to maintain social distancing and also develop a sustainable and better public transport system,” said Pai of WRI, suggesting shared mobility practices once restrictions are eased. If only 50% of a city needs transport, half of them could opt for public transport like trains and buses, 15% could use private or shared vehicles, and the remaining 10% could cycle. Professionalising informal transit services like shared autos, taxis, e-rickshaws and private minibuses--that facilitate the bulk of public transport services in Indian cities--through technology and financial assistance from the government, could also help cities ease their way back to normalcy, said Shreya Gadepalli, South Asia director at the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. | June 9, 2020

Air pollution dropped by 88% during lockdown, turns severe again

Even though the pollution levels in six major cities plummeted during the initial phase of the lockdown, it is on the rise again as the country gradually opens up, a recent study has revealed. According to the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), PM 2.5 levels across Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru dropped by a phenomenal 45-88 per cent during the pandemic-induced lockdown period. The analysis, however, found that the “pollution registered a comeback” as the nation opened up pursuant to lockdown 4.0. “In the six cities, there was a two-six times increase in PM 2.5 levels during lockdown 4.0,” said the report. According to the findings, the national capital saw the steepest rise of four to eight times, as compared to two to six times in other cities. The initial decrease in pollution could be attributed to no industrial activity, reduced on-road traffic and temporary halt on construction activities. Sunita Narain, Director General of Centre for Science and Environment said that the analysis showed the nation needed an intervention at such a massive scale to make skies blue and our air and lungs clean. “It tells us that there should be no question, therefore, on the key sources of air pollution in our country: emissions from vehicles and industry,” she added. CSE also presented a charter of environmental demands to ensure a better, cleaner and more sustainable environment, life and air quality. It stated that reducing pollution from heavy-duty vehicles, switching to clean vehicles, using clean power and providing green economic stimulus were a few strategies which could help retain the healthy air. Centre’s executive director Anumita Roychowdhury said the nation must ensure that pollution levels do not go back to ‘normal’ – what they were before the lockdown. | June 8, 2020

Air pollution dropped by 88% during lockdown, turns severe again

The air pollution emergency in Delhi has aggravated with the air quality index (AQI) spiking sharply to 528 on June 5 morning. The AQI on Thursday was much lower at 470 in the 'severe plus' category. The PM 10 count was also in the severe plus category at 496 and PM 2.5 count was at 324. (Photo: IANS) New Delhi, June 6 (IANS) Even though the pollution levels in six major cities plummeted during the initial phase of the lockdown, it is on the rise again as the country gradually opens up, a recent study has revealed. According to the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), PM 2.5 levels across Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru dropped by a phenomenal 45-88 per cent during the pandemic-induced lockdown period. The analysis, however, found that the “pollution registered a comeback” as the nation opened up pursuant to lockdown 4.0. “In the six cities, there was a two-six times increase in PM 2.5 levels during lockdown 4.0,” said the report. According to the findings, the national capital saw the steepest rise of four to eight times, as compared to two to six times in other cities. The initial decrease in pollution could be attributed to no industrial activity, reduced on-road traffic and temporary halt on construction activities. Sunita Narain, Director General of Centre for Science and Environment said that the analysis showed the nation needed an intervention at such a massive scale to make skies blue and our air and lungs clean. “It tells us that there should be no question, therefore, on the key sources of air pollution in our country: emissions from vehicles and industry,” she added. CSE also presented a charter of environmental demands to ensure a better, cleaner and more sustainable environment, life and air quality. It stated that reducing pollution from heavy-duty vehicles, switching to clean vehicles, using clean power and providing green economic stimulus were a few strategies which could help retain the healthy air. Centre’s executive director Anumita Roychowdhury said the nation must ensure that pollution levels do not go back to ‘normal’ – what they were before the lockdown.