Rajasthan

• 07 May 2024

Solar Energy to Meet Power Demand

Why in News?

The Rajasthan government is looking to increase dependence on solar energy from the current 12-14% to over 40% of consumption by 2030 to bridge the power gap.

Key Points

• With urbanisation and industrial growth, electricity demand in the state may increase by 8 to 10% every year.
  • In the next five years, the scheme for promoting solar production centres among the government and private sector and the rooftop solar plants scheme will be promoted.
  • These efforts will also reduce dependence on coal-based plants.
• According to the plan, subsidised rooftop systems are to be installed at 500,000 houses in the first phase of PM Suryaghar Yojana in the state.
  • In 2023-24, Rajasthan’s commissioned solar capacity was over 1,296 megawatt (Mw), according to the state’s renewable energy website, with the best year being 2021-2022 when the commissioned solar energy was over 5,398 Mw. The state had over 15,195 Mw of aggregate solar capacity till December 2023.
• Rajasthan’s solar energy generation potential has been assessed at 142 Gw.
  • The state has vast untapped potential in terms of intense solar radiation with one of the highest number of sunny days in a year and availability of vast unutilised government and private land.
  • This has the potential to make Rajasthan a highly preferred destination for solar energy production.

PM Surya Ghar Yojana

• It is a pioneering government initiative aimed at installing rooftop solar power systems in one crore households across the nation.
• Rooftop solar panels are photovoltaic panels installed on the roof of a building that is connected to the main power supply unit.
• It reduces the consumption of grid-connected electricity and saves electricity costs for the consumer.
  • Surplus solar power units generated from the rooftop solar plant can be exported to the grid as per the metering provisions.
  • The consumer can receive monetary benefits for the surplus exported power as per the prevailing regulations.

Rajasthan CM Felicitates Candidates Selected in Central Civil Services

Why in News?

Recently, Rajasthan Chief Minister felicitated candidates from the State selected in the Central Civil Services after passing out the 2023 Union Public Service Commission’s examination.

• He greeted the young officers at a function in Jaipur by dressing them in turbans and shawls, and presenting mementos to them.

Key Points

• The Chief Minister called upon the youths to work with honesty and dedication in all positions where they are appointed.
• The young officers who attended the function at the Chief Minister’s official residence shared their views on issues such as women’s empowerment, improving the education system, promoting tourism in Rajasthan, and improving the State’s ranking in the Centre’s Swachh Survekshan or cleanliness survey.

Swachh Survekshan (SS) 2023

• It was introduced by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in 2016 as a competitive framework to encourage cities to improve the status of urban sanitation while encouraging large scale citizen participation.
  • Over the years, Swachh Survekshan has emerged as the largest Urban sanitation survey in the world.
• In SS 2023, additional weightage has been given to source segregation of waste, enhancement of waste processing capacity of cities to match the waste generation and reduction of waste going to the dumpsites.
  • Indicators have been introduced with additional weightage on emphasizing the need for phased reduction of plastic, plastic waste processing, encourage waste to wonder parks and zero waste events.
• Ranking of Wards within the cities is also being promoted through SS 2023.
• The cities would also be assessed on dedicated indicators on the issues of ‘Open Urination’ (Yellow Spots) and ‘Open Spitting’ (Red Spots), being faced by the cities.
• MoHUA will be promoting cleaning of back lanes of the residential and commercial areas.