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The sugarcane industry has assumed an increasingly important role at a global level, with countries such as Brazil and India dominating the field. However, this causes environmental problems, since the industry produces large amounts of waste, such as sugarcane bagasse. This by-product, which is energetically partially recovered in sugar mills and in the pulp and paper industry, can make a significant contribution to the general use of biomass energy, if the usual disadvantages associated with products with low density and a high moisture content are overcome. From this perspective, thermochemical conversion technologies, especially torrefaction, are assumed to be capable of improving the fuel properties of this material, making it more appealing for potential export and use in far-off destinations. In this work, sugarcane samples were acquired, and the process of obtaining bagasse was simulated. Subsequently, the bagasse was dried and heat-treated at 200 and 300 °C to simulate the over-drying and torrefaction process. Afterward, product characterization was performed, including thermogravimetric analysis, elemental analysis, calorimetry, and energy densification. The results showed significant improvements in the energy content, from 18.17 to 33.36 MJ·kg−1 from dried bagasse to torrefied bagasse at 300 °C, showing that despite high mass loss, there is potential for a future value added chain for this waste form, since the increment in energy density could enhance its transportation and use in locations far off the production site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the conditions of the spread of globalization processes, growing interdependence, and interconnectedness of countries, a significant intensification of the academic society efforts to ensure national energy security and independence is necessary. The purpose of the paper is to provide a systematic review of the scientific environment aimed at analysing the contents and features of scientific publications dealing with new trends and patterns in sustainable energy consumption. In order to create a semantic and definition basis and research the main trends of scientific publications on the subject of developing energy efficiency and sustainable consumption, the paper carried out a bibliometric analysis concerning the categories «energy efficient» and «energy consumption» using the Scopus and VOSviewer tools. The main question is, what are the main scientific and research trends and patterns in the field of energy efficiency and sustainable consumption? For this purpose, the quantity and quality tendencies of the scientific articles which are studying issues connected with energy efficiency and sustainable consumer behaviour were determined. A sample of more than 24000 scientific publications on this issue was generated from publications indexed by the Scopus database. The study period covers 2001-2021. On the global level, the analysed investigated area is represented by the countries: China, the USA, and India. VOS viewer tools were used to systemize 5 clusters of scientific articles that analysed sustainable energy consumption from different points of view. Identification of regularities in the developing of scientific approaches to energy-efficient consumption and developing sustainable energy sector was carried out using bibliometric analysis, which has made it possible to describe the dominant retrospective evolutionary and temporal tendencies in the development of this theory concerning the concepts of sustainable development, environmental management, and development of renewables. As a result, one of the most significant trends is a green brand and tendencies connected with developing green marketing and green consumer awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A robust assessment of water used in agriculture, including livestock production systems and supply chains, is critical to inform diversification and the development of productivity and sustainable food production systems. This paper presents a detailed analysis of water used and consumed in nine dairy milk processing plants spread across Punjab, India's leading dairy milk-producing state. Over the five years (2015–2019), the direct water use (DWU) was quantified at 3.31 L of groundwater per kg of milk processed. Only about 26% of the direct water used was consumed, including evaporative losses in various milk processing operations, while the remaining 74% was returned as effluent discharges. The average total water footprint (TWF), accounting for both direct and indirect water consumption, was quantified at 9.0 L of water per kg of milk processed. The majority share (~89%) of the total water footprint was contributed by the indirect water footprint associated with the consumption of electricity (energy) in dairy milk processing activities. The plant's milk processing capacity and processing products mix also affected significant seasonal and annual variations in the direct and indirect water footprints of dairy milk processing. The analysis also found an inverse relationship between the average total water footprint and the average monthly amount of milk processed in the study plants. Therefore, efforts to reduce the indirect water footprint (associated with energy consumption), the treatment and recycling of effluent discharges, and the optimization of milk processing capacity, the dairy processing product mix, and the locations of dairy processing plants are expected to help reduce the water footprint of dairy processing in the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the long‐term effects of population and GDP changes requires a multisectoral and regional understanding of the coupled human‐Earth system, as the long‐term evolution of this coupled system is influenced by human decisions and the Earth system. This study investigates the impact of compounding economic and population growth uncertainties on long‐term multisectoral outcomes. We use the Global Change Analysis Model (GCAM) to explore the influence of compounding and feedback between future GDP and population growth on four key sectors: final energy consumption, water withdrawal, staple food prices, and CO2 emissions. The results show that uncertainties in GDP and population compound, resulting in a magnification of tail risks for outcomes across sectors and regions. Compounding uncertainties significantly impact metrics such as CO2 emissions and final energy consumption, particularly at the upper tail at both global and regional levels. However, the impact of staple food prices and water withdrawal depends on regional factors. Additionally, an alternative low‐carbon transition scenario could compound uncertainties and increase tail risk, particularly in staple food prices, highlighting the influence of emergent constraints on land availability and food‐energy competition for land use. The findings underscore the importance of considering and adequately accounting for compounding uncertainties in key drivers of multisectoral systems to enhance our comprehensive understanding of the complex nature of multisectoral systems. The paper provides valuable insights into the potential implications of compounding uncertainties. Plain Language Summary: Understanding how future population and economic growth changes could impact our energy, water, food, and environment requires looking across multiple sectors and regions. This is because these systems are all connected. For example, increasing population drives higher food demand but requires more energy and water to grow food. At the same time, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from energy through increased biofuel consumption can compete with food production for land resources. This study explored how uncertainties in future population and GDP growth could compound and interact to affect future energy use, water withdrawal, staple food prices, and carbon dioxide emissions. Using a model that connects all these systems, the study found that combined uncertainties in population and GDP lead to more significant risks of extreme outcomes than individually looking at those uncertainties. There are substantial regional differences in future outcomes, like higher uncertainty in food prices for India and West Africa compared to other regions. We highlight the need to consider multisector and multisystem interactions between uncertainties across different regions. Accounting for these compounding uncertainties provides valuable insights into potential risks, like higher extreme projections for food prices or water use. These insights are essential for long‐term planning in our connected human‐Earth system. Key Points: Long‐term implications of population and GDP changes on the coupled human‐Earth system focusing on multisectoral and regional understandingUncertainties in GDP and population growth can compound, resulting in more extreme outcomes for multisectoral systemsCompounding uncertainties differ by region and metrics; staple food prices and water withdrawal show significant regional variability [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of structural change, economic growth, hydro energy consumption, and coal energy consumption on ecological footprint, in the case of India. We employ a novel dynamic autoregressive distributed lag (DYNARDL) method to improve the existing studies' limitations and weaknesses. Thus, the current research contributes empirically and methodological to the literature. The study used the newly proposed DYNARDL simulation method and frequency domain causality using data from 1970–2017 to inspect the impact of structural change, economic growth, hydro energy consumption, and coal energy consumption on ecological footprint in the case of India. Empirical results reveal that institutional structural change decreases ecological footprint in the short and long term, whereas hydropower usage decreases ecological footprint only in the long term. Conversely, economic growth positively affects ecological footprint in both the short and long term. Likewise, coal energy usage increases ecological footprint in the long term. In addition, the findings confirm the validity of the environment Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis in India. Furthermore, the results of the frequency domain causality test revealed that structural change, hydro-energy usage, and coal consumption could predict ecological footprint in the long term. In contrast, economic growth can predict the medium- and long-term ecological footprint. We observed that as India's production level continues to surge, so does environmental deterioration, which is associated with the scale effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent times, the virtual power plant (VPP) is gaining more attention in power system engineering due to its tremendous potential in enhancing sustainable urbanism, in which, it supplies clean energy from distributed generators. Electricity is deemed a basic requirement for future automotive and ultra-modern technologies. The deficiency of traditional energy resources and their complex generation process make the production cost of electricity increase dramatically. Moreover, traditional power distribution systems are encountering issues in distributing electrical energy to fulfill customer demands. Therefore, this paper proposes a novel power management system named 'the hybrid genetic local binary knowledge (HGLBK) algorithm' to manage power distribution in the transmission lines and to optimize the total operation cost of the network. The hybrid optimization algorithm effectively controls the load by supplying the surplus power load to the adjacent feeders thereby optimally selecting and placing the distributed energy resource (DER). The proposed concept is implemented at Kayathar, Tamil Nadu in India, and their real-time data are utilized for modeling the VPP. The proposed VPP concept is implemented in the IEEE-9 bus system and the performance of VPP is simulated using the MATLAB software. The performance of the proposed HGLBK algorithm is assessed by comparing its effectiveness with the existing approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To become the fastest-growing large economy in the world, India has set a target growth rate of 9%, reaching an economy of $5 trillion by 2024-25. It is an immense challenge to meet the growth target and keep the CO2 emissions under control. The present paper aims to discover the determinants for explaining CO2 emissions in India by conducting a complete decomposition analysis, where the residuals are fully distributed to the determinants for the country from 1990-2018. The analysis reveals that the biggest contributor to the rise in CO2 emissions in India is the expansion of the economy (scale effect). The intensity of CO2 and the change in the composition of the economy, which nearly move in tandem, also contribute to the rise in CO2 emissions, although more slowly. A declining energy intensity of the Indian economy is responsible for a considerable reduction in CO2 emissions. As a typical result for an upcoming economy, this paper did not find evidence for an environmental Kuznets curve. This implies that continued economic growth will lead to increased CO2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy and waste management sectors are considered important for the country's progress towards adopting sustainable consumption and production (SCP) practices and achieving Sustainable Development Goals. However, the rapid pace of urbanization, energy-intensive growth approaches, and generation of large quantities of waste have led to severe environmental degradation of cities in India. While the government has taken several initiatives for increasing resource efficiency, limited research has been done in an Indian context to explore the policy and institutional factors. The paper focuses on challenges relating to policy enablers within the energy management in buildings and construction and demolition waste sectors; 28 semi-structured interviews were conducted with stakeholders associated with both these sectors. The findings indicate that though India has been integrating climate change measures into its national policies and enhancing the domestic market's readiness for a circular economy, successful implementation of policy framework(s) urgently requires lifestyle and behavioural changes in the society. The study further identified the role of key stakeholders including government, businesses, and consumers, for transition to a low-carbon economy for both these sectors. This paper presents a bottom-up approach to understand the changes required in the enabling environment for the uptake of SCP practices that can be adapted by other emerging economies in the Asia Pacific region for building resource efficiency. The importance of soft factors relating to institutional capacities and governance structure is raised by the analysis in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, to achieve sustainable development and avoid devastating impacts on the environment, India is making rapid and broad changes to green energy technology. In order to provide long-term energy security with lower emissions, renewable energy sources are essential. It is well known that renewable energy technologies, or RETs, have the capacity to significantly meet the demand for electricity while lowering pollution levels. The nation has set up an ecologically friendly energy route in recent years. In this paper, we apply multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) models to determine the best renewable energy technology for India. We use the MULTIMOORA model to identify the best technology under the pythagorean neutrosophic fuzzy set (PNFS) and the FUCOM to obtain the criteria weights. In this study, we investigate sources of renewable energy using the newly developed idea of the PNFS and recommend the best renewable energy source for India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cogeneration is preferred mostly in process industries where both thermal and electrical energies are required. Cogeneration plants are more efficient than utilizing the thermal and electrical energies independently. Present government policies in India made renewable energy generation mandatory in order to minimize fossil fuels consumption and to protect the environment. Hence, many cogeneration plants have been integrated with renewable energy generation. However, post-integration effects increase and introduce inefficiencies in the operation of cogeneration systems. In this paper, a case study of an identified typical cogeneration plant where renewable energy is integrated is considered. Post operational effects on the plant due to integration of renewable energy (solar) are studied and by practical experimentation through cost-benefit analysis the break-even point beyond which renewable energy generation introduces inefficiencies is estimated. Next, a systematic methodology is developed based on the heuristic forward-chaining approach technique to establish the breakeven point. An algorithm/flow chart is developed using an iterative method and executed through MATLAB using practical data from the industry. Suggestions for suitable energy storage devices to store renewable energy beyond the breakeven point, based on a techno-economic analysis of energy storage technologies, are made. Further, the battery energy storage system is designed and the capacity is estimated based on the practical solar irradiance data. A rule-based algorithm is developed to control the charge and discharge cycles of battery storage based on predefined conditions. The payback period is estimated based on the expected monetary benefits of proposed energy storage and the economy of the proposed system is ensured. The post-operational issues are resolved by introducing energy storage. The methodology presented in this paper can be a guiding tool for optimization of various renewable-energy-integrated cogeneration systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the role of nuclear energy in promoting ecological sustainability in India, focusing on three ecological indicators: ecological footprint (EF), CO2 emissions (CO2), and load capacity factor (LF). In addition to nuclear energy, the study considers the influence of gas consumption and other drivers of ecological sustainability using data spanning from 1970 to 2018. The analysis also takes into account the impact of the 2008 global financial crisis on the model, employing the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) and frequency domain causality approaches to assess the relationships. Unlike previous studies, this research evaluates both the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) and load capacity curve (LCC) hypotheses. The ARDL results support the validity of both the EKC and LCC hypotheses in the Indian context. Furthermore, the findings reveal that nuclear energy and human capital contribute positively to ecological quality, while gas consumption and economic growth have a negative impact on ecological sustainability. The study also highlights the increasing effect of the 2008 global financial crisis on ecological sustainability. Additionally, the causality analysis demonstrates that nuclear energy, human capital, gas consumption, and economic growth can serve as predictors of long-term ecological sustainability in India. Based on these findings, the research presents policy recommendations that can guide efforts towards achieving SDGs 7 and 13. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

World has been shifting towards cleaner and safer sources of energy. Reducing the carbon footprint is the need of the hour. Industries all over the globe are researching on reducing the pollution causing emissions and trying to improve in terms of using sustainable sources of energy and saving the environment. This paper would analyse the low carbon energy assessors (LCEA) in the construction industry. A detailed study has been conducted using primary and secondary research to determine the carbon emissions at different stages of construction. The study would help us in identifying the main phases and activities and components, contributing the majority of the carbon footprints. The need of this age is to work on this area and minimise the pollution and harm to the environment. The construction sites chosen are diverse and consist of all types of building in the southern part of India. The highest carbon emission component in building construction is the cement as a large amount of CO2 emission takes place during the manufacturing process of the cement. The minimum carbon emission that takes place due to the components from the building are labour, sand, MS steel and stainless steel. The study would give a high level idea about the impact of low carbon energy assessors (LCEA) in the construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of Electric Vehicles (EVs) is a turning point in decarbonizing the road transport sector. In spite of the various apprehensions of the customers, such as range anxiety, long charging times, higher costs, and the lack of charging infrastructures, EVs have managed to considerably penetrate into the market. Appreciable subsidies in EV purchase and possibilities of renewable energy-based local charging equipment have encouraged more and more people to own EVs. Electrifying road transport also calls for scaling up of all stages of the supply chain as it involves a lot of raw materials and critical metals used for battery technology. One of the most important factors determining the range of an EV is the energy density of the battery, which has reached over 300 Wh/kg, from 100-150 Wh/kg a decade ago. This clearly means that the same vehicle can travel double the distance with the same mass. Understanding and modeling the energy consumption in an EV is quintessential in alleviating the fear of range anxiety. This paper presents a detailed mathematical equation-based energy consumption analysis of a particular EV model for Indian roads. Very few researchers have worked on drive cycles suitable for India. The novelty of the current work is that the energy consumption calculation can be worked out for any EV model or vehicle type through simple mathematical equations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The massive growth in power demand and the sharp decay in the availability of conventional energy sources forces society to move toward renewable power consumption. The rise in renewable energy utilization is one of the greatest strategies involved in making the environment clean, green, and emission-free. The investment cost is slightly high for this kind of resource, but their running costsare very minimal, which encourages power producers to invest in renewable power plants. Power producers always focus on their economic profit and possible feasibilities before the investment in a new power plant setup. Wind, small hydro, and solar photovoltaics have been considered the foremost efficient and feasible renewable sources. In 2021, the worldwide renewable power capacity had grown to 17%, despite supply chain disturbances and surges in prices. The renewable power market set a target of achieving a 95% increment in global power capacity by 2026. Hence, humankind should consider wind, hydro, and solar photovoltaics as the main energy sources, and there is a need to increase use of such sources. This paper highlights the latest developments, enormous technologies, and upcoming aspects of wind power, hydropower, and solar photovoltaics in India, as well as around the globe. The present status of renewable energy can motivate global power producers to spend their money on the installation of a new renewable power plant to obtain more economic benefits and give societal economic and environmental payback to humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental sustainability encompasses various problems, including clean air, renewable energy, climate change, safe environments, and the capacity to live in a healthy community. One possible strategy for addressing these global problems is the circular bio-economy. Cleaner and lower-carbon environments may be fostered via the production of bioenergy and biomaterials, which can also help to maintain the energy-environment connection. To improve sustainability and the state of the planet, scientists are looking at renewable energy sources like ethanol. Compared to gasoline, ethanol has a reduced carbon footprint and a greater energy density, making it a viable alternative fuel. This study gives an overview of ethanol as a possible alternative fuel for flex-powered power generators in India to meet the goals of the circular bio-economy. This paper details the results of flex-fuel testing conducted on a light-duty power generator using an ethanol-gasoline mix. The findings reveal improved thermal efficiency and lower fuel consumption rates than basic fuel. The emissions of both carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbons were shown to be reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The long-term electricity demand forecast of the consumer utilization is essential for the energy provider to analyze the future demand and for the accurate management of demand response. Forecasting the consumer electricity demand with efficient and accurate strategies will help the energy provider to optimally plan generation points, such as solar and wind, and produce energy accordingly to reduce the rate of depletion. Various demand forecasting models have been developed and implemented in the literature. However, an efficient and accurate forecasting model is required to study the daily consumption of the consumers from their historical data and forecast the necessary energy demand from the consumer's side. The proposed recurrent neural network gradient boosting regression tree (RNN-GBRT) forecasting technique allows one to reduce the demand for electricity by studying the daily usage pattern of consumers, which would significantly help to cope with the accurate evaluation. The efficiency of the proposed forecasting model is compared with various conventional models. In addition, by the utilization of power consumption data, power theft detection in the distribution line is monitored to avoid financial losses by the utility provider. This paper also deals with the consumer's energy analysis, useful in tracking the data consistency to detect any kind of abnormal and sudden change in the meter reading, thereby distinguishing the tampering of meters and power theft. Indeed, power theft is an important issue to be addressed particularly in developing and economically lagging countries, such as India. The results obtained by the proposed methodology have been analyzed and discussed to validate their efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The forecast of electricity demand in recent years is becoming increasingly relevant because of market deregulation and the introduction of renewable resources. To meet the emerging challenges, advanced intelligent models are built to ensure precise power forecasts for multi-time horizons. The use of intelligent forecasting algorithms is a key feature of smart grids and an effective tool of resolving uncertainty for better cost and energy efficiency decisions like scheduling the generations, reliability and power optimization of the system, and economic smart grid operations. However, prediction accuracy in forecasting algorithms is highly demanded since many important activities of power operators like load dispatch depend upon the short-term forecast. This paper proposes a model for the estimation of the consumption of electricity in Agartala, Tripura in India, which can accurately predict the next 24 h of load with and estimation of load for 1 week to 1 month. A number of specific characteristics in the city have been analysed in order to extract variables that could affect the pattern of electricity consumption directly. In addition, the present paper shows the way to significantly improve the accuracy of the prediction through ensemble machine learning process. We demonstrated the performance of individual Random forest and XGBoost along with their ensemble. The RF and XGBoost ensemble obtained an accuracy with an improvement of 15–29%. The analyses or findings also provide interesting results in connection with energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indus Valley Civilization flourished in India and Pakistan owing to its technological advancements dating back to the 3rd millennium BC. The present paper aims to trace the emergence of pyrotechnology through documenting the industrial settlements that have been excavated in recent years, as well as locating the potential trading network for the craft items being produced at these small settlements on the outskirts of major Harappan cities such as Harappa, Mohenjo-daro and others. The paper focuses on the excavated Harappan sites with special reference to the site of Binjor - 4MSR in India's Ghaggar riverbed region. The reconstruction of kilns and furnaces based on the excavated remains was considered through the experimental study, such as wheel motion and the quantification of fuel consumption in the production of pottery, including terracotta figurines, bead and metal objects. During the research, the author has documented more than 50 furnaces, attempting to find parallels between Harappan heat treatment and modern potters and smiths located on ancient mounds. The ethnographic similarities between Harappans and the contemporary villagers who continue to inhabit the archaeological mound have been emphasised. The research also examines whether the technology utilised by the Harappans has changed or not, ranging from pottery manufacture to metal smelting, and what can be deduced from these experimental approaches to comprehend the technological prowess of their artisans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In rural areas with higher agricultural energy consumption, ensuring low-carbon transformation and rapid penetration is crucial; therefore, the importance of rural energy system in energy transformation is even more prominent. In order to better understand the research progress of rural integrated energy system, the existing structure of rural energy system and design method are briefly introduced, and the bibliometric method is applied to analyze publications from 2013 to 2023. Based on the Scopus database, 915 publications have been retrieved. These publications are analyzed from the perspective of citation, author, address, and published journal. It is concluded that existing researches mostly use conventional energy technologies to achieve power supply in rural areas, lacking analysis of the potential application of emerging energy technologies and research on multi-energy demand. Furthermore, the review reveals the economy of grid-connected rural energy system is mainly related to geographical location, system configuration, and resource endowment. The bibliometric analysis indicated that these publications are mainly from India and China; the average citation is 24.98, and each article is co-published by 3.66 authors, 2.26 institutes, and 1.46 countries. This work is helpful for scholars to understand the research status on the rural integrated energy system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper mainly dealt with the technical and economic feasibility of an off-grid hybrid power generation system for a remote rural Turtuk village of Ladakh, located in the northern part of India. The study showed that the proposed configured renewable integrated hybrid system, using Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) software, efficiently met the energy demand, exhibiting optimum performance with low investment. The proposed PV(115 kW)/Wind(1 kW)/Battery(164 strings of 6 V each)/DG(50 kW) hybrid system was a highly commendable, feasible solution preferred from a total of 133,156 available solutions resulting from HOMER simulations. The net present cost and energy cost of the proposed configuration were $278,176 and $0.29/kWh, respectively. The proposed hybrid configuration fulfilled local load, with 95.97% reduced dominant harmful carbon dioxide emission, as compared to the sole us of a diesel generator power supply system. The technical performance of the hybrid system was ensured, with advantages including the highest renewable penetration and least unmet load. Furthermore, the analysis exclusively evaluated the impact of the system's economic parameters (namely, its expected inflation rate, nominal discount rate, and project lifetime) on the net present cost and cost of energy of the system using a noble single fix duo vary approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the association between income inequality and environmental degradation has been researched extensively by various scholars, the impact of income inequality on the consumption of renewable energy, however, remains unanswered in the existing literature, the reason why the investigation of the same has been attempted through this study. Apart from income inequality, this paper also explores the impact of per capita income, consumption of nonrenewable energy and human capital development on the consumption of renewable energy, using a Nonlinear Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) model on the data pertaining to India for the period 1980–2016. This study concludes that while the increased income inequality results into reduction in the renewable energy consumption, the increased per capita income and human capital development, on the contrary, lead to an increase in the renewable energy consumption. Similarly, the impact of decrease in per capita income on renewable energy consumption was found to be negative and significant. Lastly, the nonrenewable energy consumption, showing the characteristics of a substitute, was found to have an inverse & significant relationship with renewable energy consumption in both upward as well as downward direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India, being a developing country with a fast-growing economy, experiences ever increasing electrical energy demand. Industrial and economic development in rural India is impeded by inadequate, erratic and unreliable grid supply. This has resulted in underperformance of smallscale manufacturing and service industries. Dependency on fossil fuel-based sources as an alternative increases the operation costs and carbon emissions. Migration to cleaner energy ensures sustainable solution and addresses the issues of depleting fossil fuels, global warming and environmental hazards. In this regard, hybrid renewable energy systems have gained wide acceptance as optimum solution. Hence, authors have optimally designed hybrid energy system for power deprived rural Indian villages. Authors have heeded to the vital element of incremental load growth over years while designing the microgrid to sustain the increasing load demand of emerging economy of developing country. HOMER Pro Software is utilized to accomplish system size optimization and authors have gained comprehensive insights into techno-financial feasibility for different dispatch strategies of the proposed energy system. The levelized cost of electricity of the optimal off-grid system catering to multiyear incremental load growth is 0.14$/kWh indicating that proposed system is promising in terms of commercial efficacy. The study performs a detailed analysis of the results obtained during different phases of the project to ensure robustness and supply continuity of the proposed system. The paper also includes comparison of the carbon footprint in the proposed system with that of existing system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sugarcane is one of the most important cash crops in India. India being a major consumer of sugar occupies the second place in sugarcane production, next to Brazil. In recent times, sugarcane has become a preferred crop for renewable and eco-friendly energy production. Excepted rise in demand for energy has improved the scope of sugarcane production. In this backdrop, the study focuses on the trend and growth of production area, production and productivity of sugarcane crop in India for the period 2001-02 to 2017-18. The relationship between harvested area and production is tested with the help of a regression model. Apart from that, the study analyzes the state wise growth rate of sugarcane sector. The study is based on secondary data collected from various government reports and publications. The result highlights that all the three variables under consideration witness positive growth rate. About 65% of the production comes from two states, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. Comparatively states falling under tropical region have higher yield per hectare than states of sub-tropical region. Finally, to an extent, this paper suggests ways to improve sugarcane productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India and China are the biggest developing economies in the world apart from being the most populous nations. The population of China is expected to increase over 1.4 billion by 2050, and India may over take China and become the most populous nation at around 1.6 billion populace. These two nations are home to about 40 % of the total population in the world. Apart from this, India and China have attained remarkable success in the economic growth denoted by higher gross domestic product (GDP). The two nations together contribute about one-fifth of the world GDP. This paper discusses about the changes in the energy consumption pattern of developing countries like China and India aiming towards the sustainable development. Furthermore, this paper also analyses the most important drivers adding to the ecological problems, and gives a further glance at the ecological impacts of these in India and China. Over the last 50-60 years we have been emitting carbon dioxide at an accelerated pace. This has had an effect on the carbon dioxide concentration and other GHG gas concentrations, in the atmosphere. The paper also discusses about the effect of pollutants like NOx, SOx, Particulate matter and Mercury on the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

E-rickshaws are relatively new additions to India's public road transportation system, gaining popularity as a convenient and cost-effective means of commuting for fellow travelers. However, they do not come equipped with a regenerative braking system. This paper proposes a simple and cost-effective regenerative braking system for e-rickshaw motors, incorporating an energy management system based on the state of charge of the battery. The proposed system can function effectively even when the battery is fully or nearly fully charged. Additionally, it eliminates the need for any supplementary current or voltage sensors, significantly reducing the circuit's complexity and cost. To evaluate the system's performance under various traction conditions, simulations, and tests are conducted using the MATLAB/Simulink model. The results confirm the high capabilities of the proposed system. The functionality and effectiveness of the proposed regenerative braking system are validated through laboratory experiments conducted under various conditions, including different speeds and levels of braking force, on a prototype equipped with an e-rickshaw motor. The results of the experiments demonstrate that the proposed regenerative braking system is successful in achieving its intended purpose, even with the fully charged battery, and without the need for any additional current sensors or voltage sensors. The proposed regenerative braking system not only enhances the efficiency and sustainability of e-rickshaws but also contributes to reducing overall energy consumption and environmental impact. As a result, this innovative solution holds great potential for widespread adoption in India's growing e-rickshaw industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines various features of energy and groundwater irrigation nexus in a highly irrigated ecosystem of north western India. The study is based both on primary and secondary sources of data. Electric tube-wells account for about 72 percent of the total tube-wells population and consume about 40 percent of the total electricity consumption. Power subsidies account approximately 46 percent of the total subsidies disbursed which stimulate the groundwater development. The area irrigated by means of tube-wells has enlarged from 22 to 58 percent. Rice and sugarcane crops are the key consumers of energy both in terms of average energy consumption as well as per hectare of cultivated land. The average use factor of tube-wells is about 7.5 times high during kharif than in rabi season. Farmers have yielded high economic productivity under all crops with the exception of rice than other states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need for alternative and viable energy sources for the automotive industry is increasing due to the fast depletion of fossil fuel reserves. In the present scenario fluctuating petroleum prices. Inconsistent supply, global politics, conflicts of oil-producing countries sky-rocketing energy demands, lacking oil reserves make an energy-intensive country like India, vulnerable to energy security. For a few years, researchers across the world found Biodiesel as a favourable potential energy source to fulfil its energy needs due to its availability, renewable nature, low toxicity and lesser polluting nature. There are various sources of biofuel identified by the scientists and researchers so far, which include edible oil, non-edible oil, animal fats, microbial feedstocks, waste cooking oil, etc. making biodiesel viable for use and economical for production is the very next challenge for researchers. The present work, emphasises on various selection criteria e.g. physicochemical properties, structural composition, environmental aspects, economic aspects etc. to choose better alternative out of the available biofuel resources. This paper will extensively contribute to identifying the most appropriate and cost-effective feedstocks for biodiesel selection for greater use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have achieved a remarkable power conversion efficiency of 25.5%, indicating that they are a promising alternative to dominant Si photovoltaic (PV) technology. This technology is expected to solve the world's energy demand with minimal investment and very low CO2 emissions. The market has shown a lot of interest in PSCs technology. A technoeconomic analysis is a useful tool for tracking manufacturing costs and forecasting whether technology will eventually achieve market‐driven prices. A technoeconomic analysis of a 100 MW carbon‐based perovskite solar module (CPSM) factory located in India is presented in this paper. Two CPSMs architectures—high‐temperature processed CPSMs (Module A) and low‐temperature processed CPSM's (Module B)—are expected to offer minimum sustainable prices (MSPs) of $ 0.21 W‐1 and $ 0.15 W‐1. On the basis of MSP, the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) is calculated to be 3.40 ¢ kWh‐1 for module A and 3.02 ¢ kWh‐1 for module B, with a 10‐year module lifetime assumption. The same modules with a 25‐year lifespan have LCOEs of 1.66 and 1.47 ¢ kWh‐1, respectively. These estimates are comparable to market dominant crystalline silicon solar modules, and they are also favorable for utilizing perovskite solar cell technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationships between the energy consumption, GDP growth and CO2 emission, using Panel Smooth Transition Regression (PSTR) model for BRIC countries over the period 1960-2006. Our results reveal that environmental quality in these countries has increasingly suffered from high energy consumption. Moreover, rapid economic growth and international trade in energy intensive goods have progressively increased energy consumption. This suggests that excessively high economic growth is a curse for environmental quality and energy conservation policies to reduce unnecessary wastage of energy should be kicked off for energy-dependent BRIC countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy is an efficient source in the present world and it is very significant. Huge building systems such as luxury hotels, commercial complex, malls and educational institutes require chiller plants for air-conditioning purpose in their premises. In this paper, a case analysis on energy savings and efficiency improvement of a chiller plant is done for a luxury hotel building located at Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The building consists of carrier make 2 Nos. 633 kW/180 TR and 1 No. 1185 kW/337 TR water cooled chillers. The chiller plant system at the site consumes up to 43% of the facility's annual energy cost. To increase the energy savings and efficiency of existing system and to achieve a lower number on the Specific Power Consumption (SPC), the existing chiller plant is retrofitted with 1 No. 879 kW/250 TR Premium efficiency chiller and an energy analysis is done by simulating the proposed chiller using Chiller Plant Automation (CPA) software and by understanding the energy usage of the chiller as per the site operating load and weather conditions. With the change in chiller, the system efficiency of the hotel increased by 40% and the energy consumption reduced to 38%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural and remote regions of developing economies face a serious scarcity of reliable energy supply. Focus on providing electricity through renewable and off grid energy resources is becoming increasingly popular. Off the grid or decentralized renewable energy typically considers either solar or small hydro power to fill the supply deficit and increase in demand with time is generally ignored. This paper proposes a hybrid technology mix of various renewable energy options for two remote villages located in Darma valley of Uttarakhand state in the Indian Himalayan Region. Since the villages are at an average height of 3500 m amsl, they are inaccessible during winters due to heavy snowfall. Therefore, decentralized energy could be the most cost effective solution to provide electricity. This paper estimates the energy demand of these villages and identifies the most optimum off the grid solutions, and compares it with grid connected electricity supply using hybrid optimization model for electric renewables. Micro hydro energy generation was found to be the most cost effective and techno-economically viable solution. This paper also evaluates the barriers faced by remote Himalayan villages so as to achieve reliable application of the results of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rising concern towards climate change, developing countries are moving towards Renewable Energy sources. By promoting the use of renewable energy, we can enhance the sustainable environment for livelihood and assist in economic growth. This paper focuses on the role of renewable energy in the economic growth of India. It focuses on the government policy framework for renewable energy development and its reflections on the increase in the economic growth of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the optimal sizing of PV/Wind/Fuel Cell/Battery Hybrid Energy System for energizing a Small Scale Industrial Application or a village domestic load of 200 kW. HOMER software is used for simulation of the complete system. The solar radiation data and wind speed data used in this paper are for the place of Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India which is located 11.0183° N longitude and 76.9725° E latitude. The optimized sizes of components of Hybrid Power System (HPS) are found based on Levelised Cost of Energy (LCE) and total Net Present Cost (NPC). The results are presented and compared for five different combinations of HPS components. Suggestions are also presented to choose the low cost system which produces energy at low LCE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper quantifies the carbon emissions embodied in the bilateral trade between India from the non-Annex-I country list under the Kyoto Protocol (1997) with two of its biggest trade partners from the Annex-II country list, the USA and the UK, by applying the input–output modelling during the years of 2011 to 2014, to evaluate and analyse the conjecture around the carbon leakage. After the calculation of the embodied carbon in these bilateral exports and imports, the study further inspects the roles of important drivers those are influencing the calculated emission imbalances in trade. This study addresses a high emission-intensive energy consumption pattern of India relative to both the USA and the UK which is confirming the possibility of carbon leakage from Indian commodity production sectors and inducing a huge contribution from these bilateral trades into the global emissions. Finally, this study provides evidence from a spatial decomposition analysis that the differences among the emission-intensity of output between India and its major developed country trade partners create the maximum impact on the implied emission imbalances in the bilateral trades. With the anticipation of increased India–USA and the India–UK bilateral trade, this study proposes suggestion to reduce India's emission intensity of output through fuel switching to the less emission-intensive energy options and relieve the pressure on the global environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumption of energy is a determinant of the socioeconomic status of many citizens across the globe. The majority of rural households in India are dependent on biomass fuels. Existing data on the factors affecting fuel switching in rural India are insufficient to analyze a behavioral change among families. This paper evaluates the influence of four variables income, education, cost of fuel, and clean fuel supply on fuel adoption decisions. To understand the study population's behavioral change, a Household Survey is conducted in 20 villages (in India's rural district). Along with field observation, data are also collected on energy usage at the household level using a formal questionnaire. Binary logistic regression is applied to establish a link between the variables. Both biomass fuels and Liquefied Petroleum Gas are used mostly for cooking. The prevalence of energy stacking behavior is observed even among middle and upper‐income families. Modest evidence for the "energy ladder" hypothesis is seen, however, a "switch over" to cleaner fuels is not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the role of product standards in the acceleration of the Indian energy transition. It argues that standard-setting plays a crucial role in shaping interactions between national regulators and stakeholders of the off-grid solar sector. Thirty-three expert interviews were scrutinised in a narrative analysis. Product standards are assessed in the context of an emerging Indian off-grid solar sector. The study found that there are two different frameworks for product standards, that standard adherence played a significant role in accessing government programmes, and that the establishment of product standards in the off-grid solar sector was driven by international stakeholders. By applying a narrative analysis, two central narratives on the governance of the Indian off-grid solar sector have been found. The paper concludes that diverging product standards frameworks due to increasing politicisation of energy access governance impact the acceleration of the Indian energy transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The probable availability of renewable power sources is unexceptionable, and the government of India is setting high goals for the use of renewable energy. Renewable distributed generation (DG) reduces the need for fossil fuels, relieve environment change, and decrease radiations of CO2 and other perfluorocarbons. DGs and capacitors are more desirable choices to balance power demand closer to the load centres than centralized power generation. Optimal position and capacity of DGs play an essential role in enhancing the performance of distribution systems in terms of system loss mitigation, voltage profile enhancement and stability concerns. This paper introduces Harris Hawk Optimization (HHO) and Teaching Learning-Based Optimization (TLBO) approaches for efficient distribution of different types of DGs in the radial distribution system (RDS) to enhance system loss minimization, voltage profile, yearly energy savings and decreasing the greenhouse gas emissions. The aim is to depreciate system energy losses, cost of energy losses and more reliable voltage regulation within the frame-work of RDS planning. Four different cases are considered to assess the suggested algorithms. Simulations are carried out on IEEE 33-bus and 69-bus test RDSs. The preponderance of the recommended approaches has been shown by analysing the results with techniques available in the literature. The comparison is made based on the power losses and voltage profile of RDS. The outcomes reveal that a significant decrease in power loss, enrichment of the voltage profile across the network and exactness of the suggested methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By considering the weight penalty of batteries on payload and total vehicle weight, this paper shows that almost all forms of land-based transport may be served by battery electric vehicles (BEV) with acceptable cost and driving range. Only long-distance road freight is unsuitable for battery electrification. The paper models the future Indian electricity grid supplied entirely by low-carbon forms of generation to quantify the additional solar PV power required to supply energy for transport. Hydrogen produced by water electrolysis for use as a fuel for road freight provides an inter-seasonal energy store that accommodates variations in renewable energy supply. The advantages and disadvantages are considered of midday electric vehicle charging vs. overnight charging considering the temporal variations in supply of renewable energy and demand for transport services. There appears to be little to choose between these two options in terms of total system costs. The result is an energy scenario for decarbonized surface transport in India, based on renewable energy, that is possible, realistically achievable, and affordable in a time frame of year 2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India is often referred to as the next development superpower, and generally, becoming a large-scale industrialization center is seen as an achievable goal for the country. This article investigates the output elasticity, substitution elasticity, and technological advancement between the various factors (i.e., labor, capital, and energy use) in the industrial sector of India. To investigate the factor's productivity, a trans-log production function was applied; however, ridge regression was used to analyze the various parameters to check the multicollinearity issue. The results show that (1) the analyzed inputs are optimistic and return-to-scale averages of 1.18, 1.41, and 1.24 between labor, capital, and energy, respectively, are increasing; (2) the pairs substitution between labor--industrial energy utilization and capital--industrial energy consumption is found to be 0.96 and 0.98, respectively, on average, indicating that capital, labor, and energy are good substitutes that need more attention in the production process; and (3) the technological progress between factors ranges from -0.4 to 0.02, in which labor--energy and capital--energy utilizations provide quicker outcomes than a capital--labor utilization. Finally, the industrial sector can attain maximum productivity if capital and skilled labor are improved under the sustainable development goals, as energy and capital are optimized for maximum efficiency. Finally, energy substitution and low-carbon technological efforts can be better suited for attaining dual-carbon goals in the industrial sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims to assess the contribution of Indian households to the increase in carbon footprint. Hence, this cross-sectional study was conducted in the Kalyani subdivision of Nadia district, West Bengal, India. Data were collected from 610 households, comprising 299 rural and 311 urban households, to analyse energy consumption patterns for various purposes. To summarize the dependent and continuous data, descriptive statistics were employed, while for inferences, independent sample t-test, Pearson correlation and regression were used. A significant difference was observed in total annual household carbon footprint between the urban and rural households due to varied energy consumption (t = 15.60, p < 0.05). The urban households were emitting twice (2325.20 kgCO2e) as much as the rural ones (1125.77 kgCO2e). It can also be inferred that emission was determined by the increase in household size, income, and improvement in the standard of living. Thus, in addition to several determinants, a complex cultural system, social practices, and awareness of green consumerism should also be incorporated and studied through an interdisciplinary approach to reduce the overall household carbon footprint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India is second largest populated country and facing many problems related to energy and environment. Green building is one of the solutions which can be helpful in decreasing the energy demand and improving the environmental quality. Green buildings are designed to decrease the adverse effects of the built environment on human being and natural environment by using optimum energy, conserving natural resources and using the recycled water by providing healthier environment for human beings. The basic aim of the green buildings is to reduce the overall impact on the human being and environment. This paper focuses on the importance of green buildings in improving the environmental quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Decoupling of GDP from all energy sources under multiple principles are examined. • World economy achieved weak energy decoupling in most years during 2000–2011. • World economy coupled with coal use and tended to couple with cleaner energy use. • None of studied economies achieved long-term GDP-embodied energy decoupling. • Decoupling delusions occurred when only considering direct and total energy use. Decoupling indicators are widely used to understand links between economic growth and energy use. However, traditional decoupling analyses mostly focus on domestic energy consumption (i.e., the production-based principle) and neglect off-site energy use across global supply chains to satisfy an economy's final consumption (i.e., the consumption-based principle). Moreover, analyses for total primary energy conceal an economy's preference for different energy sources. Therefore, this paper evaluates decoupling states of GDP from all types of primary energy use under consumption-based principle, for world economy and eight typical economies during 2000–2011. Regarding total primary energy, world economy witnessed weak decoupling in most years, and most economies studied (e.g., USA, Japan and China) achieved decoupling initially but performed negative decoupling finally. For EU, USA, Japan, Russia and India, production-based decoupling performances were generally better than consumption-based ones. Decoupling phenomena detected under production-based principle even became coupling or negative decoupling under consumption-based principle in some cases. As for each energy source, world economy decoupled from oil use, but still coupled with coal use, and gradually showed a trend to couple with natural gas and renewables use. Different energy sources showed distinct decoupling degrees from GDP, affected by individual embodied energy requirement structure. This paper uncovers potential energy decoupling delusions to deepen the understanding of relationships between energy use and economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the causality between energy consumption, carbon emissions and economic growth is helpful for policymakers to formulate energy, environmental and economic policies. For the first time, based on nonlinear dynamics, this paper employs multispatial convergent cross mapping (CCM) to revisit the energy-carbon-economy causation for China, India and the G7 countries using both aggregate data and per capita data. The findings indicate that there are significant differences between developing countries and developed countries. A bidirectional nexus between energy consumption, carbon emissions and economic growth is found in China and India, but various causal relationships are identified in the G7 countries, including bidirectional, unidirectional and neutral nexus. The results confirm that the decoupling phenomenon is common in most G7 countries. By leveraging a variety of samples and a new approach, this study provides new evidence for policy authorities to formulate country-specific policies to obtain better environmental quality while achieving sustainable economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies an econometric analysis to estimate the average and distribu-tion benefits of rural electrification using rich household survey data from India. The results support that rural electrification helps reduce time allocated to fuel wood collection by household members and increases time allocated to studying by boys and girls. Rural electrification also increases labor supply of men and women, schooling of boys and girls, household per capita income and expendi-ture. Electrification also helps reduce poverty. But the larger share of benefits accrues to wealthier rural households, with poorer ones having a more limited use of electricity. The analysis also shows that restricted supply of electricity, due to frequent power outages, negatively affects both household electricity connec-tion and its consumption, thereby reducing the expected benefits of rural electri-fication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of non-imaging collectors has a wide scope in process heat applications based on its performance and economics. An experimental investigation of trapezoidal/concave cavity surface receiver (TSR) for non-imaging solar concentrating collector is carried out in this paper. The implementation of surface/coil receiver instead of tubular receiver for non-imaging collector is presented in this paper. A TSR with helical coil is developed for non – imaging concentrating collector, Elliptical Hyperbolic Collector (EHC). Experiments are carried to estimate the thermal performance of the system under various operating conditions such as two operating modes: series and parallel modes of operation of the collector, two circulation modes: passive and active modes. The stagnation temperature of the trapezoidal/concave cavity surface receiver is measured to be 118 °C on a clear sunny day in October and 102 °C on a cloudy day in February. The daily performance tests are performed under different operating conditions. Based on the experimental study, for the flow rate of 0.03 kg/min and 0.5 kg/min, the fluid outlet temperature is estimated to be 87 °C at 768 W/m 2 and 49 °C at 908 W/m 2 respectively. The corresponding instantaneous efficiency was calculated to be 9% and 40% respectively. The numerical model is developed to predict the temperature of the fluid along the receiver. The pressure drop across a receiver is estimated to be 9.3 kPa for a flow rate of 0.5 kg/min. Exergy analysis of the system is carried out and it ranges between 10 and 20%. The costs involved in fabricating the EHC system are compared to that of a non-imaging concentrating collector (CPC) of same aperture area. An economic analysis of the system is also carried out to study the feasibility of the system based on the life cycle savings method by estimating the annual solar savings from the EHC system. The present system can be a suitable option for low and medium temperature process heat applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this project is to find out the boiler capacity and its development. The thermal industry is considered to be the major source of conventional energy in India. The chemical energy of coal is converted into electricity in a thermal power plant. It is now the most in demand industry due to high energy demand. The boiler is a very important part of the power plant. Running the plant with maximum result we need high boiler efficiency. Calculating boiler efficiency as one of the most important types of performance measurement in any power plant. For calculation of Boiler efficiency basically we use Direct and Indirect method. It is a measure of how effectively chemical energy in fuel is converted into heat energy in steam going to the turbine. We also improve boiler efficiency by using coal activator. The art of converting plastics into useful fuels was scaled up a few decades ago, but this side is far less likely. Plastic contains most of the organic polymers made up of carbon and other elements. Various processes such as gasification and pyrolysis are used to convert plastics into smaller hydrocarbon units such as naphtha. This is named as a "COAL ACTIVATOR". This paper aims to provide the best options that will help reduce fuel (Coal) prices in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In winter, the paddy residues become wet during morning and late evening due to dew, which restricts the operation of sowing machines (Happy Seeder and Super Seeder) into paddy residues, as wet residues do not slide on furrow openers/tines. A PAU Smart Seeder (PSS) was developed and evaluated for a four-wheel tractor that can sow wheat with optimum crop establishment in combined harvested rice fields. The PSS were evaluated for its performance under varying straw load, forward speed, and rotor speed in terms of fuel consumption, field capacity, seed emergence, and grain yield. The crop establishment and wheat yield of PSS was also compared with the existing straw management machines Happy Seeder (HS) and Super Seeder (SS) under heavy paddy residue conditions. The effect of the straw load was more pronounced on dependent variables than the effect of the speed index. PSS performance was best at a forward speed of 2.6 km h−1, rotor speed of 127.5 rpm, and a straw load of 6 t ha−1. Average fuel consumption using PSS was lower than SS but higher than HS. Wheat emergence was higher by 15.6 and 25.7% on the PSS plots compared to HS and SS, respectively. Average wheat grain yield in PSS plots was significantly higher by 12.7 and 18.9% than SS and HS, respectively in one experiment, while the grain yield was similar for both PSS and HS in other experiments. PSS has a novel mechanism to manage paddy straw and simultaneously sow wheat into a heavy straw load (> 8 t ha−1) mixture of anchored and loose straw. In conclusion, PSS showed promise for in-situ management of rice straw as it eliminates most of the operational problems encountered by the existing seeders (HS and SS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, India's primary energy use is analysed in terms of four socio-economic variables, including Gross Domestic Product, population, and the amounts of exports and imports. Historical data were obtained from the World Bank database for 44 years as annual values (1971–2014). Energy use is analysed as an optimisation problem, where a unique ensemble of two metaheuristic algorithms, Grammatical Evolution (GE), and Differential Evolution (DE), is applied. The energy optimisation problem has been investigated in two ways: estimation and a year-ahead prediction. Models are compared using RMSE (objective function) and further ranked using the Global Performance Index (GPI). For the estimation problem, RMSE values are found to be as low as 0.0078 and 0.0103 on training and test datasets, respectively. The average estimated energy use is found in good agreement with the data (RMSE = 6.3749 kgoe/capita), and the best model (E10) has an RMSE of 5.8183 kgoe/capita, with a GPI of 1.7249. For the prediction problem, RMSE is found to be 0.0096 and 0.0122 on training and test datasets, respectively. The average predicted energy use has RMSE of 7.8857 (kgoe/capita), while Model P20 has the best value of RMSE (7.9201 kgoe/capita) and a GPI of 1.8836. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the nexus between CO2 emissions (CO2E), GDP, energy use (ENU), and population growth (PG) in India from 1980–2018 by comparing the "vector error correction" model (VECM) and "auto regressive distributed lag" (ARDL). We applied the unit root test, Johansen multi-variate cointegration, and performed a Variance decomposition analysis using the Cholesky approach. The VECM and ARDL-bound testing approaches to cointegration suggest a long-term equilibrium nexus between GDP, energy use, population growth and CO2E. The empirical outcomes show the existence of a long-term equilibrium nexus between the variables. The Granger causality results show that short-term bi-directional causality exists between GDP and ENU, while a uni-directional causality between CO2E and GDP, CO2E and ENU, CO2E and PG, and PG and ENU. Evidence from variance decomposition indicates that 58.4% of the future fluctuations in CO2E are due to changes in ENU, 2.8% of the future fluctuations are due to changes in GDP, and 0.43% of the future fluctuations are due to changes in PG. Finally, the ARDL test results indicate that a 1% increase in PG will lead to a 1.4% increase in CO2E. Our paper addresses some important policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]