From a “gasping elephant” to a bull market, India’s rate of economic growth has been meteoric in the last two years. It now outpaces China, making it the “darling of emerging market investors,” according to a report by Forbes. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledging to make India the easiest place to do business, there… Read more
On the evening of October 6, 2014, former Indian Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh gave a talk at MIT, hosted by the MIT Energy Initiative, entitled “The Growth Imperative: Plotting a Sustainable Energy Future for India.” Ramesh, currently a 2014 Fall Fisher Family Fellow with the Future of Diplomacy Project at the Harvard Kennedy… Read more
The MIT Energy Initiative is sharing reports from the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Marrakech, Morocco, where MIT community members are observing the climate negotiations and speaking at auxiliary events. At a side event of COP22, the 2016 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Marrakech, Morocco, researchers and nongovernmental leaders from around the world… Read more
Two years ago, China seemed oblivious to the extraordinary levels of air pollution in many of its cities and the health consequences. But over the past six months, there has been an explosion of information on pollution concentrations, warnings from the media and new policies from the government. It took a long time, but change… Read more
India is facing a housing crisis of epic proportions, with an estimated 700–900 million square meters of new residential space required annually to accommodate its burgeoning population. In many cities, housing needs are being met by slum dwellings, but MIT researchers are working to provide a better solution—one that is energy-efficient, environmentally sustainable, and ultimately… Read more
The massive Deonar dumping ground in Mumbai has become the most visible emblem of an increasingly serious nationwide problem for India: what to do with its trash. Deonar’s towers of garbage are tall enough that there are concerns they could affect the flight patterns of airplanes coming and going from India’s financial capital. The dump… Read more
“In India, over 50% of the workforce is employed in the agricultural sector so there is an enormous opportunity to link residential electricity needs with agricultural electricity needs, like the electricity needed to power irrigation pumps, and provide a more comprehensive electrification solution.” In an op-ed for The Energy Collective, Tata Fellow Varun Mehra argues… Read more
Despite a global economic downturn that has rippled across India, the country remains one of the world’s fastest growing economies, second only to China. India is also the planet’s second most populous nation, expected to overtake China by 2030. During the MIT-India Conference, held Friday, Sept. 23, at the MIT Media Lab, speakers from both… Read more
As the world struggles to reduce climate-warming carbon emissions, India has pledged to do its part, and its success is critical: In 2023, India was the third largest carbon emitter worldwide. The Indian government has committed to having net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. To fulfill that promise, India will need to decarbonize its electric power… Read more
India has set some of the most aggressive near-term energy goals of any nation in the world. The man tasked with bringing those goals to fruition, Piyush Goyal, met with researchers from the MIT Energy Initiative and Tata Center for Technology and Design Thursday to discuss the challenges his government faces and to look for solutions that… Read more
On Sept. 29, influential thinkers from across the globe came together for the Tata Center for Technology and Design Annual Symposium at the MIT Media Lab. MIT faculty were joined by leaders from India’s business, nonprofit, and government sectors in a series of lively panel discussions on the challenges and opportunities of applying MIT research… Read more
Illustration: Christine Daniloff/MIT Around the world, there is more salty groundwater than fresh, drinkable groundwater. For example, 60 percent of India is underlain by salty water — and much of that area is not served by an electric grid that could run conventional reverse-osmosis desalination plants. Now an analysis by MIT researchers shows that a… Read more
India has made great strides in electrification in recent years, but further investment is still needed, especially in rural areas. Here, Robert Stoner, deputy director of the MIT Energy Initiative and director of the Tata Center for Technology and Design, comments on energy and development opportunities and challenges in India and how MIT is supporting… Read more
India is the world’s leading milk producer, with many of its people relying on milk as a primary source of income. Indian dairies buy milk from local farmers at village collection centers, and then sell the milk or use it to make dairy products. But with rural India’s limited electric grid, often available for only… Read more
Despite concerted efforts, several plans and policies of the government addressing rural electrification remained unrealized since India’s independence. Although India attained near‐complete grid connectivity in 2018, the problem of inconsistent, unreliable and unaffordable electricity persists, expressly in remote and rural areas. This paper conceptualizes issues of rural electrification in India as a ‘Wicked Problem’ –… Read more
The Ganges River basin of eastern India is some of the most fertile farmland in the world. With shallow groundwater and rich soil, the area is instrumental in India’s agricultural ecosystem. However, all is not well for the roughly 480 million people who rely on the basin for their livelihood. “Eastern India is one of… Read more
The Minamata Convention on Mercury, a global treaty adopted by the United Nations in 2013, aims to reduce worldwide mercury pollution by setting limits on specific pollution sources and prohibiting new mercury mining. Certain aspects of the treaty are still under negotiation: For instance, nations have the flexibility to create their own plans for reducing… Read more
For centuries the red clay brick has been, quite literally, the building-block of India. Simple, cheap, and locally available, these bricks are ubiquitous across the country, and continue to be manufactured by the billions using techniques largely unchanged since the time of the British Raj. However, as India’s population booms, the traditional kiln-fired brick is… Read more
Taking MIT’s “Mens et Manus” (Mind and Hand) motto to heart, the new Tata Center for Technology and Design is pioneering a multidisciplinary approach to problem solving in the context of developing countries. “We are giving our students a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in settings where societal needs and aspirations are no different from… Read more