Realising the importance of environmental balance, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).

MMRDA and TERI have agreed to develop and implement need-based collaborative programmes in local, national and global context while developing regional infrastructure.The key areas identified by MMRDA and TERI are compilation of the environmental status report, estimating the carbon footprints of organisations and evaluating the impact of modern and improved transport projects undertaken by MMRDA on the environment.

They will also develop programmes and projects for the preservation of natural wetlands within the boundaries of MMR and devise methodologies and or policies for preservation of mangroves and salt pans within MMR.

Source: DNA                           

A revolution in the field of Insurance is all set to roll out from First Insurance World Broking Services, a Chennai-headquartered insurance brokerage firm. It has been decided to offer all insurance facilities online as communicated by a top company official.

The portal www.insuranzone.com would enable paperless transaction branded as ‘Green Insurance’ and would also offer Any Time Motor Insurance (also called as ATM Insurance) for customers from various insurance companies. Besides giving these services, the website offers various types of insurances like ‘Comprehensive Insurance’, Fire, Theft and Third Party Insurance. Policies from New India Insurance, Bajaj Life Insurance, and Bharati AXA Life Insurance can also be taken and the insurance schemes can be renewed over this website.

First Insurance World Broking Services Ltd, Director and Principal Officer,    B Mathews Prabhakaran has assured that various insurance policies like Travel, Health, Life and Accident for individual customers through this portal by 2010 year end.  A 24×7 call centre is already set up to attend to customers’ queries and assistance.

This innovative procedure would pave way to reduce the hassles of the common man by using cutting edge technology to get the desired insurance policy at the click of a mouse.

Source: financialexpress.com

Indian states have welcomed the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) initiative to introduce a renewable electricity certificate (REC) mechanism. While Gujarat has notified the final regulations on REC mechanism, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are waiting for the approval of regulations drafted by the state commissions.

The Ministry of New and Renewable energy has already agreed to provide financial assistance of Rs. 9 crore over the next 3 years towards implementation of the mechanism. This financial support would be provided for developing relevant software and hardware and for providing manpower to both central and state agencies.

RECs are a type of environmental commodity intended to provide an economic incentive for electricity generation from renewable energy sources, such as wind or solar power. The mechanism aims to achieve both environmental and a country’s energy security objectives. The regulations were put in place to issue transferable and saleable credit certificates to power generation projects from non conventional energy sources.

According to the CERC regulations, two types of certificates would be issued – solar and non-solar. The solar certificates will be given to those who would generate solar power, while the non-solar certificates are meant for companies generating electricity from other renewable energy sources. Although the sale of solar power under the National Solar Mission initiative would have a special tariff and the companies would not be eligible for the REC mechanism.

Source: business.gov.in

The government is drafting legislation to mandate producers of electronic equipment to ensure that e-waste is collected, transported to specific recycling units, and safely disposed of. Failure to do so would invite fines as prescribed under the existing Environment Protection Act, or potential closure of the industrial unit. Producers of such equipment will also have to annually apprise the environment ministry of the e-waste collected, the rules propose.

Forthcoming legislation to manage electronic waste could increase the cost of electronic goods as well as place the onus on consumers to ensure that their discarded computers and defunct television sets are given away or sold only to authorized scrap dealers. While this could greatly boost the nascent organized e-waste recycling sector, it could also mean higher levels of scrutiny by pollution control agencies.

Currently, 85-90% of India’s e-waste generated largely from outdated cellphones to computer hardware is handled by the informal sector. This waste is broken down and recycled, generally under hazardous as well as environmentally damaging conditions. Precious metals such as gold, copper and platinum are extracted from this and ploughed back into the industry. However, plastics and other non-biodegradable materials tend to accumulate.

Bulk consumers of electrical and electronic equipment, including corporate houses as well as government offices, are likely to be most impacted, because they would have to proactively ensure that their heavy electrical equipment as well as lighter electronic goods are no longer auctioned off to the grey market, but given to companies registered and accredited by the state pollution control boards.

The organized e-waste recycling sector is currently operating far below installed capacity. Few organizations in India have equipment such as specialized incinerators to dispose of such waste. Currently only ten companies have registered with state and central level pollution control boards across the country.

According to a United Nations report, India’s e-waste from old computers will jump 500% from 2007 levels by 2020, whereas South Africa and China will witness a 200-400% rise in computer-related waste. Waste from rapidly growing mobile telephony in India will grow 18 times from the 2007 levels, a period during which China is estimated to see a sevenfold rise.

Source: business.gov.in

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