TSPSC Group – I
Mains,2024
Paper - I : General
Essay
For Examination guidance purpose only
For any clarification
please refer to the prescribed text books
Time
: 3 Hours
Marks : 150
Note : Answer all
questions. Answer ONE question from each section.
Answer to each
question should be limited to around 1000 words. All questions carry equal
marks .
For GENERAL ESSAY PAPER :
Syllabus
:
Section-I
1. Contemporary Social Issues and Social Problems. 2. Issues of Economic Growth
and Justice.
Section-II
1. Dynamics of Indian Politics. 2. Historical and Cultural Heritage of India.
Section-III
1. Developments in Science
and Technology. 2. Education and Human Resource Development
========================================================
Paper V : Science and Technology :
Syllabus:
I. The role and impact
of Science and Technology.
1. Classical and Emerging
areas of Science & Technology : Value addition by Science & Technology,
Current Science & Technology developments in India and importance of
Science & Technology as an engine for National Development ; Industrial
development & Urbanization.
2. National Policy of
Science & Technology: changes in Policy from time to time: Technology
missions ICT: Basics in Computers, Robotics, Nano technology and Communication.
3. Space program in India and its applications
with special reference to industrial, agricultural and other rural development
activities, INSAT, IRS systems, EDUSAT and Chandrayaan-1 and future programme.
4. Application of Space Technology in India
with references to Education, Agriculture and Industry. Climatic change,
Floods, Cyclone, Tsunami, Natural and Manmade Disaster Management.
5. Energy Resources: Energy
demands, Indian energy scenario- hydel, thermal and nuclear.
Importance of renewable resources - Solar, Wind, small/Mini/Micro
hydel, Biomass, waste based, geothermal, tidal & fuel cells.
Energy security - Role of Science & Technology, Bio-fuel cultivation and
extraction
=========================================================
GENERAL ESSAY ON
“IMPORTANCE OF
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES”
India was a power deficit nation at the time of
Independence. The efforts to make India energy-independent have continued for over
seven decades, and today, we are a power surplus nation with a total installed
electricity capacity of over four lakh Mega Watt (MW). Keeping in mind the
sustainable development goals, India's power generation mix is rapidly shifting
towards a more significant share of renewable energy. Today, India is the
world's third largest producer of renewable energy, with about 42 per cent of
our installed electricity capacity coming from non-fossil fuel sources.
Estimated renewable energy potential of India (other
than large hydro) is about 1.5 million MW, of which 50 per cent is from solar, 46.7
per cent from wind, and the remaining from small-hydro, biomass and waste to
energy.
What is Renewable Energy ?
Renewable energy sources can be defined as energy
sources that are not depleted with their use. In other words, they are able to
be replenished from their respective sources, such as the water resources used
to generate hydroelectric power. Renewable energy, as defined by the United
Nations (UN) is energy derived from natural sources,
which are replenished at a higher rate than consumed.
Common renewable energy sources include solar,
wind, geothermal, hydropower, ocean, and bioenergy.
i)Solar energy generation utilises the sun’s energy
to provide thermal energy through solar thermal systems and electrical energy
through solar hotovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) systems.
ii)Wind energy uses large wind turbines located
on land (onshore) or in sea or freshwater (offshore) to capture the kinetic
energy of moving air.
iii)Geothermal energy makes use of the accessible
thermal energy from the earth’s interior.
iv)Hydropower utilises the potential energy of
water flowing from higher to lower elevations.
v)Ocean energy is derived from technologies that
utilise the kinetic and thermal energy of seawater, such as waves and currents,
to generate electricity or heat.
vi)Bioenergy is derived from a variety of organic
materials known as biomass, such as wood, charcoal, manure, and agricultural
crops for liquid biofuels.
Clean Energy :
Renewable energy is also referred to as clean energy
as it does not produce pollution, and they also have a low carbon footprint and
emit fewer GHGs in comparison with conventional fossil fuels energy sources.
The IEA reports that in 2021, renewable energy
sources contributed 28 per cent of the total energy generation worldwide, while
coal was used to generate 36.3 per cent.
Furthermore, renewable energy sources are
expected to account for over 90 per cent of global electricity expansion over
the next five years, surpassing coal to become the largest source of global
electricity by early 2025.
China, the European Union, the United States, and
India are primarily responsible for the surge in the share of renewable energy
sources in the next five years due to their policy responses and market reforms
pertaining to green energy. The Economic Survey 2021-22 reports that renewable energy
contributes to approximately 10.7 per cent of India’s power generation, followed by coal.
The transition from conventional to green energy
has experienced the fastest rate of growth among all large economies, with
renewable energy capacity increasing by 2.9 times and solar energy expanding by
over 18 times.
Reneweable Energy promotion in the Indian context :
To promote the use of renewable energy sources,
an exclusive institution, the Department of Non-Conventional Energy Sources
(DNES), was created in the Ministry of Energy in the year 1982. In 1992, the Department
was upgraded into a separate Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources (MNES)
in 1992 and was re-named as Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) in October
2006. The Ministry is being supported by five institutes, namely:
(i) National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE),
(ii) National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE);
(iii) Sardar Swarn Singh National Institute of Bio
Energy (SSS-NIBE)
(iv) Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency
(IREDA); and
(v) Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).
This institute provides technical and R&D support to the Ministry.
Among them, IREDA, a Non-Banking Financial
Institution under the administrative control of this Ministry, provides term
loans for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee,
provides technical support for small hydropower development.
Schemes:
There are specific schemes to promote renewable
energy in India. National Solar Mission is one of the most important scheme of
Government of India, being implemented by the Ministry of New and Renewable
Energy. National Solar Mission aims to increase the share of solar energy in
the total energy mix. The cumulative targets under the mission for Grid
Connected Solar Power Projects consist of 40 GW Grid connected Rooftop projects
and 60 GW large and medium size land-based solar power projects.
The
combined target is set at 100 GW. The
total investment in setting up 100 GW will be around Rs.6,00,000 crore.
The Pradhan Mantri Kishan Urja Suraksha evam Utthan
Mahabhiyaan (PM-KUSUM) is another important scheme in this regard. The scheme
aims to add solar capacity of 30,800 MW by 2022. The scheme by 2026 targets to
install 10,000 MW of solar capacity through small Solar Power Plants, install
20 lakh standalone Solar Powered Agriculture Pumps, and Solarise 15 Lakh
Grid-connected Agriculture Pumps. The National Mission on Strategic Knowledge
for Climate Change is another initiative to make people aware. The scheme seeks
to build a knowledge system that would inform and support national action for ecologically
sustainable development.
What is ‘energy transition’?
Ans:
The term "energy transition" refers to
the change that is taking place in the global energy sector away from
fossil-based systems of energy production and consumption, such as oil, natural
gas, and coal, and toward renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, as
well as lithium-ion batteries. The sun,
the wind, the water, the heat of the earth, and plants are all examples of
sources of energy that can be regenerated naturally and are used to produce
renewable energy. At this time, we rely almost exclusively on fossil fuels to
heat and power our houses as well as fuel our vehicles. The usage of coal, oil,
and natural gas to fulfil our energy requirements may seem like the most
practical option, but there is only a finite amount of these fuels on the
planet. We are utilizing them at a rate that is far faster than they are being produced.
They are eventually going to be depleted.
Future of the energy sector :
Within the next two decades, according to the
reports published by the International Energy Agency, solar power is projected
to see spectacular development in India, eventually equalling the amount of
coal in the mix of power generation in India. At the moment, solar energy is
responsible for less than 4 per cent of India's total electricity output, whereas
coal is responsible for close to 70 per cent. This remarkable about-face is
being driven by India's policy ambitions, most notably the target to reach 450 GW of renewable capacity by 2030.
Solar power, along with other forms of generation
technology and energy storage, is encouraged to be combined in order to provide
a "round-the-clock" supply, which is one of the driving forces behind
the growth of renewable energy projects on a utility scale.
In India's power industry, the emergence of renewable
energy sources has been a key success story. Wind and solar photovoltaic
electricity currently account for 7 per cent of total output, which is twice as
much as their proportion in 2014. In some Indian states with an abundance of
renewable resources, such as solar and wind, the two resources together account
for up to 15 per cent of the total electricity generation. Nevertheless, there are
still major structural, legislative, and institutional impediments that might hamper
further expansion, and the level of success has been variable among the many
forms of renewable technology. Congestion on the grid, concerns regarding the
development of grid infrastructure, and the weak financial status of many state
distribution businesses are some of the challenges that need to be addressed
and overcome.
The rise of residential rooftop solar has lagged behind
that of utility-scale installations due to higher pricing and a scarcity of
financing options that are favourable to consumers. This is owing to the fact that
it is more difficult to secure financing for rooftop solar installation
projects. Rooftop solar panels supplied a total energy of 40 GW toward the 100
GW total, making them the single largest contributor.
The annual growth rate of India's demand for electricity
is 4.7 per cent, which is approximately double the pace of overall growth in
the demand for energy. Because of the widespread use of home appliances, the
proportion of total energy consumption that is met by electricity is expected to increase from the current 20 per cent to approximately
50 per cent by the year 2040.
Electrification of India's energy infrastructure
is a major factor in rising demand; power is being used more often in
industries that benefit from a steady supply of low-temperature heat, and steel
production is more dependent on electricity. Both of these trends are driven by
significant increases in the consumption of electricity. Increased adoption of
electric vehicles, particularly two-and three wheeled vehicles, makes it
possible for electricity to make headway in the transportation industry.
Solar photovoltaic (PV) projects are now the most
cost-effective technique for generating new power in India, and they are also
among the most cost-effective methods worldwide. This is because solar energy
has a lower cost per watt than other forms of renewable energy. However, in
order to accurately evaluate the competitiveness of solar photovoltaics (PV) in
India, one needs to look at a number of other factors in addition to the
pricing of the technology itself.
Solar Power:
According to the estimates of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) 5000 trillion
kwh energy is incident over India's land area every year, with most parts
receiving 4-7 kWh per sq. m per day. This is converted to electrical energy through
photovoltaic cells. Solar energy has many advantages among which the abundance
in supply, ability to generate power on a distributed basis, and ability for
capacity addition in short time leads are prominent. Ideally, only a small
fraction of the total incident solar energy is required to meet the entire
country’s power requirement.
The last decade has witnessed surge in the use of
solar energy based decentralised and distributed applications. Millions of
Indians are now using solar power for lighting, cooking, mobility and other energy
needs. The solar power-based cooking has significantly improved the quality of
life, especially of rural women and girl children, by reducing the drudgery of
long haul of fuel woods and risk of lung and ailments caused by kitchen smoke.
Moreover, easy access to power in remote areas have boosted economic activities
and employment opportunities, and thus helped in mainstreaming the
underdeveloped zones.
Estimates by National Institute of Solar Energy
suggest that covering three per cent of the waste land area with solar
photovoltaic modules can generate about 748 GW power. In 2010, Government of
India launched National Solar Mission (NSM) with active participation of States
to promote sustainable growth while addressing the energy security challenges.
This can also contribute significantly to our effort to tackle the challenges
of climate change.
Wind Power:
The study conducted by National Institute of Wind
Energy (NIWE) identified seven states viz. Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan,
Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh with significant
potential for power generation from wind. The wind potential of these 7 seven states
at 100 m above ground level (agl) is 293 GW and the potential at 120 m agl is
652 GW. The Government has been promoting wind power projects by incentivising
the investments through Accelerated Depreciation Benefit, which allows an
investor to claim higher rate of depreciation in wind power infrastructure than
that for the general assets. The allowed rate of depreciation was 100 per cent
when the scheme was first introduced in
1994 and later rationalised to 80 per cent and to
40 per cent in a phased manner. Government has also introduced waiver of Inter
State Transmission System (ISTS) charges for inter-State sale of solar and wind
power, for projects to be commissioned by 30 June 2025.
India, having a natural advantage of 7500 km long
coast line, has the potential of harnessing offshore wind energy. In 2015,
Government of India notified National Offshore Wind Energy Policy with the
primary objective of exploring and promoting deployment of offshore wind farms
in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the country, including those under
Public Private Partnership. The NIWE has identified potential zones for
offshore wind energy of 36 GW and 35 GW
off the coasts of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu respectively.
Hydro Power :
India has close to one hundred hydropower facilities,
in addition to nine pumped storage installations. In 2019, it achieved 50
gigawatts of potential hydropower capacity, moving it past Japan to take fifth
place on the list of the world's highest prospective hydropower capacities.
However, hydropower's contribution to the overall mix of sources used to
generate electricity has been steadily declining over the last few decades and
now accounts for just around 10 per cent of total output. The potential for
pumped storage in India is approximately 90 GW, and there are 63 sites that
have been identified and recognised in national energy regulations for the significant
grid services they provide.
Since March 2019 Government of India has been
recognising Large Hydro Power Projects (LHPs) including Pumped Storage Projects
(PSPs) having capacity of more than 25 MW as part of renewable energy.
Hydro projects with capacity less than 3 MW had
already been under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy since the year 1989
and those with less than 25 MW since 1999. According to the assessment made by
Central Electricity Authority (CEA), India has the potential of economically
exploitable hydro-power to the tune of 1,48,700 MW. If the probable capacity of
pumped storage of 94000 MW and that of about 6700 MW from small, mini and micro
hydel projects are considered, India's hydro power potential will be about
2,50,000 MW. However, only less than 30 per cent of this is presently exploited
despite having long life, low cost and high efficiency among many other
advantages.
Bio-fuels:
Ethanol and biodiesel are the two most common
types of biofuels in use today. Ethanol is a renewable fuel that can be made
from various plant materials, collectively known as “biomass.” Government has
been implementing Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme wherein the Oil Marketing
Companies (OMCs) sell petrol blended with 10 per cent ethanol. Biodiesel is a
liquid fuel produced from renewable sources, such as new and used vegetable
oils and animal fats and is a cleaner-burning replacement for petroleum-based diesel
fuel. Presently, biodiesel is produced from imported palm-stearin oil in the
country. However, we are phasing it out by using used cooking oil as the feedstock.
Since the biomass-based renewable hydrocarbon fuels are nearly identical to the
petroleum-based fuels, the transition becomes easier. The National Policy on
Biofuels announced
in 2018 is aimed at accelerated promotion of biofuels
with indicative targets of achieving 20 per cent blending in Petrol and 5 per
cent blending in diesel by 2030.
Green Hydrogen:
Hydrogen is used as an energy source in industry,
mobility and thermal applications. It is produced by splitting water through
electrolysis using an electric current. When the electricity used for hydrogen
generation is sourced from renewable resources, that is without emitting carbon
dioxide, it is called green hydrogen. Hon’ble Prime Minister has launched the
National Hydrogen Mission on India’s 75th Independence Day in 2021. The Mission
aims to make India a green hydrogen hub which will help in meeting the target
of production of 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030 and the related
development of renewable energy capacity. On 3rd January this year, National
Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has commissioned India's first green hydrogen
blending project in the piped natural gas (PNG) network of NTPC Kawas township,
Surat, to supply H2-NG (Hydrogen -Natural Gas) to the households in the township.
Ocean energy :
Ocean energy refers to energy derived from Wave Energy, Tidal Energy, and Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion.
The technology development in these areas is at
research and development stage. The estimated theoretical power potentials for Tidal
and Wave energy are 12,455 MW and 41,300 MW respectively.
Geothermal energy :
Geothermal Energy is a source of heat stored in
the earth’s crust, which is manifested on surface as hot springs. In India,
Geological Survey of India (GSI) has estimated that a tentative power potential
of 10 GW could be extracted from geothermal energy.
Food Security and Renewables:
Ensuring food security is the fundamental pre-requisite
for any sort of development. After land, water and energy are the two paramount
resources in ensuring food security and thereby catalysing the human centric
development. Ratio of volume of ground water extracted every year to the annual
ground water recharge, referred as stage of groundwater development, in the
country is 61.6 per cent.
The stage of ground water extraction is very high
in the states of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan, where it is more than
100 per cent, which implies that in these states the annual ground water
consumption is more than annual extractable ground water resources.
In the states of Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh,
Karnataka and Union Territories (UTs) of Chandigarh and Puducherry, the stage
of ground water extraction is between 60-100 per cent.
These trends clearly establish the huge reliance
on energy by way of lifting the ground water for irrigation purpose. Moreover, the decline of ground water table leads to the consumption
of more energy every year to meet the irrigation requirements. Use of
renewables plays a major role in ensuring gains for the
water energy- food nexus. For example, renewable energy based micro irrigation
systems, and the reuse of waste water treated in plants powered with
renewable energy can significantly contribute to the environment, water &
energy saving and in ensuring food security.
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