by control_zenuser | Feb 10, 2023 | In the news
Even as average per capita consumption of alcohol has more than doubled from 2.4 litres to 5.7 litres between 2005 to 2016 in country, the Government is yet to wake up from its slumber to take note of this growing menace and take measures to regulate its intake at an individual level.
A report ‘Policy measures to reduce per capita consumption of alcohol in India’ released on Thursday flags the menace as it enlists several recommendations including policy measures aimed at disincentivizing consumption of high alcoholic beverages; and, creating consumer awareness to regulate intake at an individual level.
It is a known fact that excess of consumption of alcohol is not good for health and there is a need to regulate its consumption by creating awareness among people about its ill-impact, Ashim Sanyal, Chief Executive Officer, Consumer VOICE told reporters at a press conference held here to share details of the report prepared in collaboration with Gateway Consultancy.
It comes days after WHO warned that there is no ‘safe limit’ to alcohol consumption, and even a small amount may increase the risk of cancer and other NCDs. “Between 2005 and 2016, India’s per capita consumption of pure alcohol almost doubled from 2.4 liters to 5.7 liters.
Most of this consumption was from beverages with high alcohol-by-volume content or hard liquor such as whiskey, vodka, rum, gin, IMFLs and country liquor.
Sharing more details of study Sanyal said, “With alcohol consumption in India seeing its highest growth in 15-30 age group, we are concerned about excess per capita consumption of alcohol and its consequences.
India does not have a central level policy to reduce consumption and is among the few countries which does not have guidelines on safe consumption.”
Tushar Gandhi, Chief Executive Officer of Gateway Consulting added: “The report highlights the increasing per capita consumption of pure alcohol in India and highlights that high alcoholic beverages are most cheaply available and are consumed most. But, on the other hand, globally consumers are moving towards low alcoholic beverages.
Drinking patterns indicate that people drink to ‘get intoxicated’ and engage in excessive and binge drinking, added Hemant Uapadhyay, from Voluntary Organisation in Interest of Consumer Education.
Heavy Episodic Drinking, which is defined as consumption of 60 grams or more of pure alcohol on at least one occasion in the last 30 days, declined in a total of 164 countries and remained unchanged in nine countries. However, India is amongst the few countries across the world where heavy episodic drinking has increased, he added.
With this background, it is imperative that the government considers broader social aspects to include higher healthcare and social care costs while making alcohol policies. The report aims to trigger a debate and engage stakeholders with an objective to moderate alcohol consumption through policy measures and awareness campaigns.
by control_zenuser | Jan 30, 2023 | In the news
By Rudra Saxena and Jiyen Khullar, 27 January 2023
In June 2022, India was able to achieve its ethanol blending target of 10 percent, also called E10, five months ahead of schedule. The government’s next target is to achieve a 20 percent blend or E20 by the end of 2025. To lessen India’s reliance on fossil fuels and reduce carbon emissions and air pollution, ethanol has been identified as an essential biofuel.
Ethanol is a renewable fuel and burns cleaner than petrol1 , resulting in lower particulate matter (PM 2.4 and 10) and tailpipe emissions, contributing to reducing air pollution. According to a NITI Aayog report, an E20 blend leads to greater reductions in carbon monoxide emissions, which were 50 percent lower in two-wheelers and 30 percent lower in four-wheelers. Compared to regular petrol, ethanol blends have a 20 percent reduction in hydrocarbon emissions at a 20 percent blend rate.
In addition to contributing to the environment, ethanol has several other benefits. For instance, it provides additional income to farmers, reduces dependence on oil imports and benefits consumers as it naturally has a high-octane number.
Ethanol blends well with petrol and can be used in most gasoline engines without any alterations, at the current 10 percent blend levels. However, to achieve the ambitious blending of 20 percent, there are two key areas India will need to achieve – to increase ethanol production capacity from the current 700 to 1500 million liters and to ensure new and existing vehicles are compatible with a 20 percent blend.
Similar to Brazil, the Indian government plans to introduce FFVs, or Flex Fuel Vehicles, which can run on zero to E85 blended fuel (an ethanol-petrol blend that contains 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent petrol). This will go a long way in reducing emissions and saving on India’s crude import bill. Once the country achieves 20 percent ethanol blending, India will be the second-highest ethanol blending country behind only Brazil – which currently blends at 27 percent.
Rudra and Jiyen are students at the Ashoka University, majoring in Economics and Finance, and Computer Science.
by control_zenuser | Jan 30, 2023 | In the news
By Arnav Mehra and Manav Sharma, 25 January 2023
Biennially held in India, the Auto Expo is one of the largest automotive trade fairs in Asia which sees participation from automobile manufacturers, OEMs and stakeholders of the automobile industry from India and around the world. This year, the Expo featured a wide range of automobiles including cars, two-wheelers, trucks and buses, and new fuel technologies like electric, hybrid and flex-fuel vehicles.
Given the Indian Government’s focus towards higher ethanol blending, for the first time this year the Expo featured an Ethanol Pavilion to create awareness about ethanol as a renewable and reliable fuel for automobiles and promote its adoption and use. The Pavilion saw participation from stakeholders like The Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), Praj Industries, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), the U.S. Grains Council (USGC), UNICA – The Union of the Sugarcane and Bioenergy Industry of Brazil, Growth Energy and the Renewable Fuels Association of the U.S.
Mr. Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, visited the pavilion and spoke about the benefits of ethanol, and reiterated India’s commitment to achieving a 20 percent blending mandate by 2025. Mr. Puri said that India had advanced from ethanol blending of 1.53 percent in 2013-14 to a 10.17 percent blending in 2022. That, this increased use of ethanol had translated into savings of ₹41,500 crore of forex (Over USD 5 billion), reduced greenhouse emissions by 27 lakh million tonnes and helped farmers with payments worth ₹40,600 crores (Approx. USD 5 billion) in the last 8 years.
In the Minister’s presence, Mr Vinod Aggarwal from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and Mr Josh Miller from The U.S. Grains Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with an objective to support higher domestic ethanol blending by creating awareness about its use, increase domestic production, ensure automotive compatibility, and create a favourable policy environment.
Ethanol is a biofuel that is made primarily from sources such as sugar cane, corn, and other food grains. It is a renewable fuel source that is domestically produced in the country and helps to reduce dependence on foreign oil as well as fossil fuels. Using ethanol as a blend with gasoline, in varying quantities like E10 (10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline), E15, E27 and E85 is a common practice in several countries like Brazil and the United States. One of the key benefits of using ethanol is that it reduces emissions and smog-forming pollutants, making it an environmentally friendly option.
With climate change being a priority globally, significance of ethanol has increased as it lowers the carbon content in petrol and helps reduce particulate matter emissions, contributing to better air quality. As Ethanol has a high-octane number of 113, it reduces engine knocking and helps improve fuel and engine efficiency. The high-octane rating of ethanol allows for higher compression ratios in engines, which potentially results in efficient combustion and more power.
Today many countries, such as Brazil, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, China and France, have integrated ethanol into their fuels. For instance, Brazil has a high ethanol blend of 27 percent with petrol while the U.S. has a mandate of 10 percent blend and provides consumers to choose from a variety of different blends like E15, E30 and E85 at the fuel stations. The Indian government achieved its 10 percent blending in June 2022, five months ahead of its November 2022 target, and aims to achieve a 20 percent blend by 2025.
Increased use of ethanol and India moving towards a 20 percent blend will not only contribute to India reducing its oil import bill but will also go a long way in reducing our carbon emissions and dependence on fossil fuels.
Arnav and Manav are students at the Ashoka University, majoring in Economics and Psychology.
by | Jul 13, 2022 | In the news, Uncategorized
The monsoon session of the parliament will start from 18 July 2022 and continue till 12 August 2022. The Election Commission of India also announced that the presidential election will be held on 18 July and the vote count will take place on 21 July, a few days prior to when President Ram Nath Kovind’s tenure comes to an end on 24 July. The ruling party’s (Bhartiya Janta Party) candidate for the Presidency is Ms. Draupadi Murmu, former Governor of the state of Jharkhand and the opposition’s candidate is Mr. Yashwant Sinha, a former BJP leader and former Finance Minister. In addition to the presidential election, the vice-presidential election will also take place during the session.
The government is anticipating a busy session, with at least 25 bills pending. These include the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019; the Weapons of Mass Destruction and Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Bill, 2022 (the bill prohibits individuals from funding any unlawful activity involving weapons of mass destruction or their delivery systems); the Mediation Bill, 2021; The Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021; the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021; and, the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens (Amendment) Bill, 2019.
The Bank Privatisation Bill, a legislation for privatisation of select public sector banks, which has been in the works for several months is also likely to be presented in the monsoon session. The centre wants to maintain a minimal presence in the financial sector by lowering the minimum stake in Public Sector Banks (PSBs) from 51 percent to 26 percent. However, the government will only exit those PSBs that have been identified for privatization. These include the Indian Overseas Bank, the Central Bank of India, and UCO Bank.
The government is also expected to introduce a new law to replace the current SEZ Act, 2005, which governs Special Economic Zones (SEZ), with the Development of Enterprise and Service Hubs (DESH) Act in order to bring SEZs in compliance with the norms of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The proposed regulation also proposes to allow development hubs to house offshore banking entities, subject to the approval of the Reserve Bank of India.
In this session, the opposition is expected to raise several issues such as inflation, the overall economic situation (unemployment, fall in rupee and slow recovery of labour markets), the Agnipath scheme and the demand to extend the GST compensation period (An act which was introduced by the government in 2017 to compensate the states for the loss of revenue arising due to the implementation of GST). The recent political crisis in Maharashtra which resulted in change in the government is also likely to be raised in the parliament.
Gateway Consulting is a public policy firm headquartered in Gurugram, India. For more information, please contact Tushar Gandhi, CEO on +91 8879004364 / tushar.gandhi@gatewayconsulting.co.in
by | Jul 1, 2022 | In the news, Uncategorized
On the evening of 30 June 2022, Mr Eknath Shinde was sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Mr Devendra Fadnavis became the Deputy Chief Minister. The development came a day after Mr Uddhav Thackeray, who led the coalition of Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress, resigned as the state’s Chief Minister, after just two and a half years of being in power. This took place in the backdrop of a political crisis which started on 20 June as the Shiv-Sena led coalition faced a setback where they won just two seats out of 10 in the Legislative council elections against Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) winning five seats.
The turning point came when Mr Eknath Shinde, who was part of the Shiv Sena led coalition and Minister of Maharashtra’s Urban Development and Public Works (Public Undertaking), staged a walk out from the party along with 40 other Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs). Mr Shinde received simple majority of 37 Shiv Sena MLAs, out of the total 55, who pledged their support to him through a written letter to the deputy speaker of the Legislative Assembly.
In a series of tweets, Mr Shinde expressed that the alliance of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress in the state of Maharashtra was unnatural, where only NCP and Congress had benefitted from it. In a statement, he said that they will continue to carry forward Mr Balasaheb Thackeray’s Hindutva ideology. Mr Balasaheb Thackeray was an Indian politician who founded the Shiv Sena, a pro-Marathi and Hindu nationalist party active in the state of Maharashtra. According to news reports, Mr Shinde also felt side-lined since the formation of Uddhav Thackrey led government in Maharashtra.
After the walk out of the MLA’s, Shiv Sena moved a petition to impeach 16 MLAs, who supported Mr Shinde, for missing a party meeting on 22 June. On the same day, two independent MLAs backed a no-confidence motion filed by the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), which was singed by 34 other MLAs, against Mr Narhari Zirwal, Deputy Speaker of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. Mr Zirwal rejected the no-confidence vote which led to the Maharashtra parliamentary office summoning and sending disqualification notices to the 16 dissident Shiv Sena MLA’s and demanding written responses to the allegations by June 27. Challenging the disqualification notices, Mr Eknath Shinde moved the Supreme Court.
On 29 June, Maharashtra’s Governor Mr Bhagat Singh asked the Maharashtra Legislature Secretary to hold a floor test of Shiv-Sena led government on 30 June. This was challenged by the Shiv Sena in the Supreme Court, which was rejected. Immediately after the Supreme Court’s refusal to intervene, Mr Uddhav Thackrey resigned from his position of the Chief Minister.
It was anticipated that Mr Devendra Fadnavis, leader of opposition and former CM of Maharashtra, would become the CM for the third time. However, he announced that Mr Eknath Shinde would become the new Chief Minister and took the position of Deputy CM.
Gateway Consulting is a public affairs firm headquartered in Gurugram, India. For more information, please contact Tushar Gandhi, CEO on +91 8879004364 / tushar.gandhi@gatewayconsulting.co.in
by | Apr 16, 2022 | In the news, Uncategorized
The term, Quantum Technology (QT), has become immensely popular and is oft-used beyond doubt. A simple search on Google’s News section yielded about 75,00,000 results; the top news being Google and Amazon scheduled to attend a White House forum on Quantum Technology.
Now, before we get into the whys of QT, let us take a step back to understand its origins. QT is based on Quantum theory, which is the theoretical basis of modern physics that explains the nature and behaviour of matter and energy at atomic and subatomic levels. Interestingly, the concept of atoms is more than 2,000 years old and we owe it to ancient Greek philosophers, who introduced it. Atom means ‘one that is uncuttable’.
The 19th century saw the formulation of hypotheses about subatomic structure and finally in the initial years of the 20th century, scientists including Max Planck and Albert Einstein immensely contributed to our understanding of Quantum theory. The etymology of the term, Quantum, is itself fascinating; it is derived from Latin, meaning ‘how great’ or ‘how much’.
Indeed, the potential of Quantum Technology is limitless. Countries and companies are investing billions of dollars in research and development, and building quantum communication networks to secure their cyberspace especially in the areas of sovereignty and defence. Quantum computing is an important application of QT. Quantum computers fundamentally process information differently than classical computers. Instead of using transistors that can only represent either the ‘1’ or the ‘0’ of binary information at a single time, quantum computers use qubits that can represent both ‘0’ and ‘1’ simultaneously. Since the system operates beyond regular logic, reason and predictability, its randomness of possibilities give access to an exponentially larger computational space.
QT can be used in the areas of computing, supply chain logistics, cryptography, sensing, biology, meteorology, cyber security, artificial intelligence, telecom, banking, internet-of-things, defence, and healthcare. In short, QT is tipped to come up in a big way in our everyday lives in the course of the next 10 years.
This is why according to Gartner, almost 90 percent organizations will be active in quantum computing projects and will utilise quantum computing as a service by 2023. The overall quantum market is forecast to reach $240 million by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 48 percent.
Technology giants such as Google, IBM, Amazon, Toshiba and Microsoft have invested heavily in QT. Google recently achieved quantum supremacy by solving a problem in 200 seconds that would take a classical computer 10,000 years! IBM, in June 2021, launched ‘IBM Quantum System One’ in Germany, the most powerful quantum computer in Europe. IBM has a network of 150 organizations, including research labs, start-ups, universities and enterprises that are able to access its quantum computers via the cloud.
Governments across the world, including the U.S., UK, Germany, Japan and China, are showing immense interest and progress in QT’s future potential. For instance, China established a 4,600 kilometers quantum communications network across the country and is also switching its key defence, banking and financial transactions on quantum communications network. In the U.S., QT is one of Pentagon’s top modernization priorities which has potential to be leveraged for a variety of military applications. These countries are also providing fiscal and skill-based support, and are partnering with private organizations to build their quantum technology infrastructures.
India too is taking steps towards adopting QT. In the Union Budget 2020, India allocated over $1 billion, over five years, towards the National Mission on Quantum Technology and Applications (NMQTA). Areas of focus include fundamental science, technology development, human and infrastructural resource generation, innovation and start-ups to address issues concerning national priorities.
Separately, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) plans to build a national quantum communication network in collaboration with Department of Telecommunications. The Department of Science and Technology, which is overseeing disbursement of the allocated $1 billion fund, has identified government institutions to work along with the private sector on areas such as product development, R&D and skills development.
India has, so far, achieved approximately 100 kilometers of quantum network, lagging far behind other countries that have managed to develop thousands of kilometers of quantum network. To quickly progress, India will need to focus on product development and commercialisation, in addition to new, more intensive and sustained R&D efforts. Its impetus on indigenous manufacturing of semiconductors will also go a long way, as these are critical and essential components for development and commercialisation of quantum technologies.
Most countries that have achieved significant progress in quantum have one thing in common – strong collaboration among the government, industry and academia. India, too, will need to have these three elements work closely on specific programmes and projects to develop indigenous or ‘Made-in-India’ QT and networks to make its mark on the global map.
Tushar Gandhi, CEO and Shreya Kamath, Researcher at public policy firm Gateway Consulting contribute this article on the World Quantum Day.
