General Studies-III
Topic– Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.
National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell Battery Storage
Context:
Recently, the Union Cabinet has approved the proposal of Department of Heavy Industry for implementation of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme ‘National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage’.
It aim for achieving manufacturing capacity of Fifty (50) Giga Watt Hour (GWh) of ACC and 5 GWh of “Niche” ACC with an outlay of Rs.18,100 crore.
Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC)
ACCs are the new generation of advanced storage technologies.
- This technology can store electric energy either as electrochemical or as chemical energy and convert it back to electric energy as and when required.
- The electronics, electric vehicles, advanced electricity grids, solar rooftop etc. are major battery consuming sectors and they are expected to achieve robust growth in the coming years.
- It is expected that the dominant battery technologies will control some of the world’s largest growth sectors.
National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage:
The scheme titled the National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage, under the department of heavy industry, may boost India’s green energy credentials.
- It is among the PLI schemes worth ₹1.97 trillion announced by the government last year for 13 sectors.
- The goal is to create global manufacturing champions in the country and attract firms exploring a China-plus-one strategy for production.
Key features:
- ACC battery Storage manufacturers will be selected through a transparent competitive bidding process.
- The manufacturing facility would have to be commissioned within a period of two years.
- The incentive will be disbursed thereafter over a period of five years.
- Each selected ACC battery storage manufacturer would have to commit to set up an ACC manufacturing facility of minimum 5GWh capacity and ensure a minimum 60% domestic value addition at the project level within five years.
- The beneficiary firms have to achieve a domestic value addition of at least 25% and make the mandatory investment of ₹225 crore /GWh within 2 years (at the mother unit level) and raise it to 60% domestic value addition within 5 years.
- The incentive will be paid out on the basis of sales, energy efficiency, battery life cycle, and localization levels.
Need and Significance:
Such battery storages will cater not only to electric vehicles but also to the consumer electronics industry and electricity grids.
- This gains importance given India’s ambitious clean energy targets and the intermittent nature of electricity from clean energy sources such as solar and wind.
- In such a scenario, storage holds the key for providing on-demand electricity from wind and solar projects.
- All the demand of the ACCs is being met through imports in India. The National Programme on ACC Battery Storage will reduce import dependence.
- It will also support the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
What is PLI scheme?
Production Linked Incentive Schemes (PLI Scheme) are an outcome- and output-oriented scheme where incentives will be paid only if the manufacturers make the goods.
- These schemes provide the cash incentives for five to seven years and all the sunrise and important sectors are proposed to be covered in this.
- The scheme extends an incentive of 4% to 6% on incremental sales (over base year) of goods manufactured in India to eligible companies, for a period of five (5) years with financial year (FY) 2019-20 considered as the base year for calculation of incentives.
- The Scheme will be implemented through a Nodal Agency which shall act as a Project Management Agency (PMA).
General Studies-III
Topic- Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
Air Unique-quality Monitoring (AUM)
Context:
Indigenous Air Unique-quality Monitoring (AUM) Photonic System has been developed for Real-Time Remote Monitoring of Air Quality.
What is the AUM system?
- The AUM system is an innovative application of the principles of laser backscattering, statistical mechanics, optoelectronics, artificial intelligence, machine/deep learning, and Internet of Things.
- It can identify, classify, and quantify various pollutants simultaneously (of orders of less than one part per billion) and meteorological parameters, with very high precision, sensitivity and accuracy.
Need for:
- World Health Organisation (WHO)’s reports show that the worsening state of poor air quality is responsible for more than 7.5 million fatalities worldwide annually.
- This highlights the necessity for accurate, yet cost-effective monitoring of air quality parameters as monitoring is critical to solution.
- The current systems and technologies used for air quality monitoring are prohibitively expensive for wider deployment.
- This underlines the need for development of systems for real-time remote monitoring of relevant air quality parameters.
Who developed?
- With the support from Department of Science and Technology’s Clean Air Research Initiative, Gayatri Vidya Parishad-Scientific and Industrial Research Centre (GVP-SIRC) & GVP College of Engineering, Visakhapatnam, has developed an indigenous photonic system for real-time remote monitoring of air quality parameters.
- The system titled AUM (Air Unique-quality Monitoring) had CATS Eco-Systems, Nashik as the technology transfer partner for commercialization.
Significance:
This system can boost the nation’s efforts towards self-reliance in high-end technologies and can additionally be instrumental in supporting the endeavours in improving the nation’s health and economy.
Mains Questions:
Discuss the reason behinds worsening state of poor air quality in Indian metro cities. Given the air quality on Delhi-NCR, What are the initiatives has been taken up by government to redress this problem.
Chrome facts for Prelims
International Nurses Day
International Nurses Day is celebrated around the world every May 12, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth.
- The ‘International Nurses Day’, established in 1974 by the International Council of Nurses (ICN), also serves to highlight the important role nurses fulfill in health care.
- According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Nurses account for more than half of all the world’s health workers and yet there is an urgent shortage worldwide with 5.9 million (2020) more nurses needed, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
The theme for the 2021 is– “Nurses: A Voice to Lead – A vision for future healthcare”.
Amphotericin B
Amphotericin B is a medicine used to treat Mucormycosis, a fungal infection that is being reported in COVID-19 patients.
- The Government of India is therefore engaging with the manufacturers to ramp up production of the drug.
- The supply position is expected to improve with extra imports of this drug and increase in its production domestically.
Oxycare system
Oxycare is a SpO2 based Oxygen Supply System which regulates the oxygen being administered to patients based on the sensed SpO2 levels.
- The Oxycare system delivers supplemental oxygen based on the SpO2 levels and prevents the person from sinking into a state of hypoxia which can be fatal.
- This system was developed by Defence Bio-Engineering & Electro Medical Laboratory (DEBEL), Bengaluru of DRDO for soldiers posted at extreme high-altitude areas.
- The system is indigenously developed for operation in field conditions and is robust.
- It can be effectively used to treat COVID-19 patients.
