- As the popular saying goes, optimists view the glass filled with water as half full. Whereas,pessimists view the glass as half empty. The perception defines the inherent belief system deeply embedded in individuals. This comes to the fore while describing anything the mind conjures up. Since time immemorial, humanity has witnessed the emergence of epochal innovations, inventions, initiatives, and developments that have profoundly altered the course of our existence in many ways. The ever-probing human mind has gifted humanity with some of the most revolutionary inventions that have benefited us immensely. Groundbreaking developments in science, technology, medicine, and other allied/related fields are innumerable. We are reaping the benefits of these big-time in the present times.
PC: GreenTree Global
- And the quest to explore hidden resources that would go a long way in benefiting humankind has been a unique quality receiving admirable support from leadership across the world. Mind you, any new successful invention will invariably benefit society/global community at large. Thus, whenever pushed to the corner, we have succeeded in showcasing our resilience by inventing pioneering development on a perpetual basis. We know how the ongoing conflict in West Asia is debilitatingly affecting us. The energy crisis across the globe is palpable. The economy and the GDP growth prospects will take a definite hit. How to make the best use of the crisis/challenges confronting us? Look out for opportunities by thinking/acting out of the box. Simple.
PC: Deccan Herald
- The Union Government is pushing to ramp up its biofuels mission. Not a day soon, yet not hard enough. Biofuels, yes, are a strategic national priority. The speed with which it will be adopted by car makers and consumers is also dependent on the GOI’s roping in private players to join the mission, from farm to biorefinery to voluntary switch to E-20. But first, even the biofuels mission needs to shift its focus, from using food crops to produce ethanol – sugarcane/maize – to using crop residue. Fertilisers, in the main, chemical urea, for food crops, are mostly imported. So, the first counter to biofuels is that depending on imported fertilisers just loops back to square one of instability. The solution to that is also biofuels. Waste-based biofuels kill two birds with one biorefinery – they produce fuel (ethanol) and can replace imported chemical fertilisers (urea).
PC: LinkedIn
- This can be done with organic ones at the farm level. If India were to meaningfully move away from food crops to using crop residue – think cane stubble and bagasse, rice, wheat straw, corn cobs – it would harvest a multiplier effect. Processing farm residue, nothing goes to waste. India generates more than 500mn tonnes of agricultural residue each year, which, per some estimates, could yield over 40bn litres of ethanol-equivalent. Biogas slurry – the waste after producing biogas – is an excellent organic fertilizer. This, in turn, will help slash GOI’s crippling fertilizer subsidy bill, estimated at a staggering Rs 2.4L cr this year. This frees farmers from imported chemical fertilisers that kill soil nutrients. All concerned need to join hands to make this potentialmeasure become progressive in due course of time.
