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Misplaced activism undermining development: The Hasdeo story

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4 years ago

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What does Parsa in Hasdeo, Chhattisgarh, have in common with the northwest German village of Lutzerath or Brasilia in Brazil? They are hubs for protests against coal mining, with well-funded activists taking the forefront citing lack of protection for indigenous reserves.

In Chhatisgarh, the ‘adivasis’ (tribals) in Hasdeo have been resisting the destruction of their lands because of the coal mines in which Rajasthan government’s owned power company, Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited, has invested heavily for commissioning of 4,400 MW of thermal power stations.

They are supposed to source coal from its three Parsa East-Kanta Basan (PEKB), Parsa and Kente Extension Coal Blocks with annual production of close to 30 million tonnes.

However, it has been able to produce only half of it from the first phase of PEKB Block while both Parsa and Kente Extension coal blocks have failed to take off, courtesy the protests.

Meanwhile, in Brazil, indigenous groups have held many protests to pressure lawmakers into strengthening protection for indigenous reserves and limit illegal activity by miners and ranchers encroaching on their territory.

In Germany, protestors in Lutzerath are protesting the planned expansion of a nearby coal mine as they believe that the village has long been doomed to disappear to allow the gigantic Garzweiler open-pit lignite mine to expand further.

But Parsa’s case differs from Brazil and Germany. The vast majority of Brazil’s electricity is produced by hydro power with just 3 per cent coming from coal, some of which is imported.

Germany, on the other hand, is planning to abandon coal by 2030 as part of the transition away from fossil fuels and toward cleaner energy sources.

In India, the major production of electricity is achieved through coal, which is around 75 per cent of the total power generation. India’s per capita electricity consumption is half of Brazil, one-fourth of China and sixth of Russia among BRIC nations.

India has the fifth largest coal reserves in the world and it is the most affordable fuel for the developing nation.

Also, unlike Brazil, Parsa’s units are not illegal. The five petitions filed by protestors against the coal mines in Parsa at the Chhattisgarh High Court have been rejected.

But both the mines are still facing the heat of the protests, making the financial condition of hundreds of families, who willingly offered their land for the critical mine project a couple of years ago, worse.

Locals are neither able to carry on their agriculture activities nor are there any job prospects due to delayed mining projects. They are compelled to live on the money they received as compensation for their land.

Besides, thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the underdeveloped region, Rajasthan power utility is estimated to pay nearly Rs 2,000 crore to the Chhattisgarh government in terms of various taxes and royalties. Hence, it is critical for the financially weak state-owned power utilities to have captive coal blocks since there are unable to afford expensive imported coal.

But what the activists behind this smear campaign, who the locals believe are sponsored, don’t understand is that Rajasthan will plunge into severe power crisis if it fails to kickstart coal production from the second phase of PEKB Block where it is not possible to recover coal anymore from the first phase. Also, coal production from Parsa and Kente Extension blocks is critical for Rajasthan’s energy security in the future.

A senior official from Ventura Securities last week said steep electricity prices will not only affect households but also have an impact on the overall economy as well. Especially at a time, when the country is trying to be self-sufficient and self-reliant and is in the process of becoming a stiff competitor to international market giants like China.

As far as environmental hazards go, to say that the economic landscape for coal mining has changed dramatically in the past two decades won’t be incorrect.

According to a report by Coal Ministry in 2021, the government has put major thrust on sustainable development in coal mining and is taking multi-pronged action on both environmental and social fronts.

The Coal Ministry has moved forward with a comprehensive sustainable development plan and has initiated its speedy implementation.

Primary focus is on making immediate social impact through Out of Box measures, besides regular environmental monitoring and mitigation during mining operation.

PEKB, Parsa and Kente Extension blocks will be operated by long-term agreement for Mine Development and Operations (MDO) instead of conventional and inefficient short-term contracts for coal excavation.

In the case of MDO model, the mine developer and operator must ensure “responsible mining” practices. This compels mining companies to address the interests of all the stakeholders, including the local community and the government.

According to Indian legal and regulatory frameworks, the lease holder of the coal mine must compensate for tree felling by even higher afforestation. Both PEKB Block’s second phase and Parsa blocks have received all the approvals from the local communities, state and Central government authorities.

Rajasthan is facing hurdles on account of misinformation spread by a handful of professional activists targeting the development of its coal blocks.

The debaters are arguing that Rajasthan’s coal blocks will affect the biodiversity of Hasdeo forests by undermining Rajasthan’s impressive records in afforestation.

Rajasthan power utility has planted more than eight lakh trees to compensate for the impact on the local ecology to make PEKB Block the model mine in the country.

Rajasthan’s power utility is one of the first mining lease holders to deploy heavy duty tree transplanters to relocate more than 9,000 trees instead of cutting them down. Further, Chhattisgarh’s Forest Department has already planted more than 60 lakh trees.

In absence of desired support from the locals of the mining areas, resourceful activists have launched big budget social media campaigns. In April 2022, project-affected people came together in large numbers to urge the Chhattisgarh government to allow Rajasthan for its mining operations. However, the situation is still far from desirable.

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Indian startups making key advances in low-cost rockets in threat to SpaceX: Sridhar Vembu

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17 hours ago

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October 10, 2026

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New Delhi, Oct 10: Zoho’s Chief Scientist and Co‑founder Sridhar Vembu on Saturday said that Indian startups are making major advances in low-cost rockets in threat to SpaceX.

“Directly due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government policy, Indian startups are making major advances in low-cost rockets and that poses a threat to SpaceX in the same way the Chinese EVs threaten Tesla,” Vembu posted on X responding to a post by Starlink Founder Elon Musk.

Further, the tech leader also said medicine prices in India are among the lowest globally and pointed to the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) as an example of low‑cost payment infrastructure.

“India has among the lowest drug prices in the world (and is still going lower). People who visit India buy medicines to take home quite regularly now,” the X post said.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has worked hard to create a competitive economy where the benefits flow to the average Indian,” Vembu wrote, adding that the Indian government does not tolerate monopolies.

“He has also actively promoted and encouraged a massive surge in startups, and that is the best signal of a highly competitive economy,” the post said.

Vembu supported India’s economic and digital policies, hailing the country’s low data costs and competitive markets.

He said Indians routinely use dual‑SIM phones with large data plans because they are affordable.

“India has among the lowest data prices in the world. It is so good that I don’t even bother to connect to local Wi-Fi when I travel in India and just tether my phone to work on my computer,” he said.

In a separate post on Friday, Vembu said Indians have made major contributions to US technology prowess but warned that many on US visas face the prospect of uprooting lives built through hard work.

“A big part of America no longer wants us,” the Zoho Co-founder said.

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Govt disconnects over 82 lakh fraudulent mobile connections via ASTR

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1 day ago

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October 9, 2026

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New Delhi, Oct 9: India has disconnected over 82 lakh fraudulent mobile connections through the Artificial Intelligence and Facial Recognition powered Telecom SIM Subscriber Verification (ASTR) tool, Union Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development Dr Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani said on Friday.

Addressing the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Roundtable on “Implementing ITU Standards to Combat Fraudulent Communications” on the sidelines of the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2026 here, the minister said the country has built a robust and layered defence mechanism against telecom-related fraud and cybercrime.

He noted that organised fraud networks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, with scams involving impersonation, so-called digital arrests, AI-generated voice cloning and deepfakes posing significant challenges. According to the minister, Indians lost more than Rs 22,800 crore to such fraud in 2024.

Dr Pemmasani said India has adopted a five-layered approach to tackle fraudulent communications. This includes real-time blocking of spoofed international calls, identification and disconnection of suspicious mobile connections through the ASTR platform, citizen participation via the Sanchar Saathi initiative, intelligence sharing through the Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP), and targeted action against emerging fraud channels.

Highlighting the impact of these initiatives, he said the Sanchar Saathi app has been downloaded around 25 million times, enabling citizens to actively participate in reporting suspected fraud and misuse of telecom resources.

The minister added that the Digital Intelligence Platform currently connects more than 1,600 organisations, including telecom service providers, banks and law-enforcement agencies, facilitating real-time information sharing to detect and prevent fraudulent activities.

He further said that the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator has helped avert suspected financial losses exceeding Rs 5,000 crore over the past 15 months by enabling timely intervention against fraudulent transactions.

Emphasising the need for international collaboration, Dr Pemmasani said fraud has become a global problem that requires coordinated global solutions.

He underscored the importance of adopting international standards for digital verification of caller identities across networks to curb cross-border fraud.

Welcoming the ITU’s proposal for joint trials among governments, regulators, telecom operators and technology companies, he said India is ready to participate and contribute to the development of global frameworks for trusted communications.

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Skill training institutes no less than IITs, IIMs: PM Modi urges youth to champion skill development

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1 day ago

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October 9, 2026

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New Delhi, Oct 9: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met members of India’s contingent that delivered an impressive performance at the WorldSkills Competition Shanghai 2026, congratulating the young participants for showcasing their talent and skills on the global stage.

The interaction took place at the Prime Minister’s residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, where PM Modi lauded the competitors for their achievements and encouraged them to continue excelling in their respective fields.

Sharing details of the meeting on social media, the Prime Minister praised the participants for their outstanding performance at the international skills competition and said it was a pleasure to interact with and motivate the young achievers.

The Prime Minister underlined the objective behind establishing a separate Ministry for Skill Development and said that the importance of skill training institutions is no less than that of IITs and IIMs. He encouraged the participants to share their experiences and suggestions with the government to help improve India’s skill training system.

India recorded its best-ever performance at the 48th WorldSkills Competition, held from September 22 to 27 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (NECC) in Shanghai. The country secured six silver medals and 20 Medallions for Excellence, finishing 10th in the overall rankings.

The latest result marks a significant improvement from the previous edition of the competition held in France’s Lyon in 2024, where India finished 13th with four bronze medals and 12 Medallions for Excellence.

The improved ranking reflects the growing capabilities of India’s skilled workforce and its rising presence in global skills competitions.

According to the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, the six-day event brought together more than 1,400 young competitors from nearly 70 countries and regions.

India fielded its largest-ever contingent, comprising 70 competitors, who participated in 63 skill categories spanning emerging technologies, advanced manufacturing, engineering, creative industries and specialised services.

After four days of intense competition, winners were honoured during the closing ceremony held in Shanghai on September 27. The event celebrated excellence in technical expertise, innovation, precision and craftsmanship, drawing participants, industry leaders, experts and international delegations from across the world.

India’s participation in WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 was coordinated by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, with support from Sector Skill Councils, industry partners, training institutions and technical experts.

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