Uttarakhand State PCS

• 02 Apr 2024

Helicopter Service to Uttarakhand's Adi Kailash and Om Parvat Peaks

Why in News?

Recently, a helicopter service was launched to the Adi Kailash and the Om Parvat peaks from the Naini Saini Airport in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand.

Key Points

• Under the Uttarakhand government's Heli Darshan scheme, an Mi-19 helicopter will take pilgrims from the airport to Adi Kailash and Om Parvat in the Vyas Valley region and return after hovering over the peaks.
  • The service was launched by Joint Magistrate Ashish Mishra.

Adi Kailash

• Also known as Shiva Kailash, Chota Kailash, Baba Kailash or Jonglingkong Peak, is a mountain located in the Himalayan mountain range in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand.

Luminous Invests in Solar Module Facility in Uttarakhand

Why in News?

Recently, Luminous Power Technologies inaugurated a 250 MW solar module manufacturing facility in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand.

• Luminous also launched an immersive Experience Center at the plant to showcase its solar ecosystem approach integrating connected energy solutions.

Key Points

• The fully automated 10-acre plant built with an initial investment of Rs 1.2 billion is expandable up to 1 GW capacity.
  • The launch marks a strategic shift for Luminous from being just a maker of solar inverters and batteries to now manufacturing solar modules.
  • The company also claims to be the only Indian firm that can design and build complete solar power generation systems.
• The facility will produce polycrystalline, monocrystalline, N-type, and TOPCon solar panels with adaptability ranging from 5BB (BusBars) to 16BB configurations for residential, commercial, and agricultural needs.
• The company has partnered with Australia’s University of New South Wales for solar module technology development.
• The launch aligns with the government’s ‘Make in India’ mission and the recently announced ‘PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana’ solar program.
  • Originally intended to fully subsidise installation of 1-3 Kilowatt (KW) solar systems in 1 crore households, the scheme now offers up to 60% coverage of costs, with households required to cover the remainder, albeit with accessible loans.
  • The scheme envisaged to generate up to 300 units of free electricity every month which would translate to benefits of ₹15,000-18,000 annually for households.
• According to the recently released "State of Solar PV Manufacturing in India 2024" report by Mercom India Research, India added 20.8 GW of solar modules and 3.2 GW of solar cell capacity in the calendar year 2023.