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WASTE VALORISATION HUNT FOR A LEADER

‘Revised crop residue management guidelines to boost Government sets up panel to select new IOC Chairman

development of eco-friendly solutions for rice straw’ The government has set up a panel The committee to select the IOC
to select a Chairman for Indian Oil chief is likely to relax the age criteria,
The government is committed to Ms. Rukmani was speaking at a tion, but almost all solutions create new Corporation (IOC) after giving its current as previously done for the ONGC chief,
helping farmers to manage stubble, ‘National Workshop on Clean & Green problems. This is a continuous journey, chief, Mr. S. M. Vaidya, a rare exten- and consider even retired executives
according to Ms. S. Rukmani, Joint Solutions for Rice Straw Management’, and the issue of rice straw management sion after he retired in August this year. for the job. This would keep Mr. Vaidya
Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and organised by the Confederation of is no exception. For instance, burning “The Appointments Committee of the in play.
Farmers Welfare. Indian Industry (CII) and the Ministry stubble seemed like a solution at one Cabinet (ACC) has approved the pro-
of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare in time given the short window period bet- posal of the Ministry of Petroleum and In August, the Appointments Com-
“We have launched revised guide- Delhi recently. The workshop brought ween harvesting one crop and sowing Natural Gas for selection to the post of Surana. Mr. Surana is part of the com- mittee of the Cabinet gave Vaidya a
lines on crop residue management and together the government, industry, agri- the next, but burning ruined soil quality Chairman, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., mittee in the capacity of an “outside re-employment contract for a year
are now promoting ex-situ manage- culture experts, and farmers onto a and created enormous pollution. on immediate absorption basis, through expert of eminence”. even though the oil ministry had recom-
ment of rice straw, offering fi nancial single platform with the objective of a search-cum-selection committee as a mended a two-year extension for him.
assistance for capital cost of machinery disseminating policy guidelines on Ms. Seema Arora, Deputy Director one-time measure,” said a government A similar three-member committee, His re-employment is contractual
through subsidy of up to 65% for pro- Crop Residue Management (CRM), General, CII, while calling for further order. comprising Ms. Srinivasan, Mr. Jain, and and began soon after he retired at
jects, while industry will need to con- deliberating on feasible solutions for scaling up the crop residue manage- former Indian Oil Chairman Mr. B. Ashok the end of August and is valid “till
tribute 25% towards operational costs,” CRM, forging mutually benefi cial part- ment project, urged all stakeholders The committee comprises Public as the outside expert, was set up last 31.08.2024, or till the appointment of
she said. She emphasised that stubble nerships while promoting peer-to-peer to completely eliminate stubble burn- Enterprise Selection Board (PESB) year to select ONGC’s Chairman. The regular incumbent to the post, or until
can be a source of wealth and spoke learning leveraging progressive farmers ing in North India. Ms. Rukmani also chairperson Ms. Mallika Srinivasan, panel recommended former BPCL chief further orders, whichever is the earli-
of the government’s initiative on paddy from CII-intervened areas. launched the CII toolkit – ‘Clean Air & Petroleum Secretary Mr. Pankaj Jain, Mr. Arun Singh, who the ACC appointed est,” a government order previously
straw supply chain, promoted in a Healthy Soil’ – for farmers, which and former HPCL Chairman Mr. M. K. as ONGC Chairman late last year. said.
Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model Sharing his perspective on the will be developed in local languages.
with the purpose of involving industries long-standing issue of stubble burning, During the workshop, exemplary far- TRADE TRENDS
that can utilise it. There are many uses Mr. S. Sivakumar, Chairman, CII Natio- mers from zero-stubble burning villages
for paddy straw, but there was no robust nal Agriculture Council and Group were felicitated for their contribution Plastic exports down by 7 percent in August: Plex-
supply chain available for these indus- Head, Agri & IT Business, ITC Ltd., said towards a zero-stubble burning move-
tries, she elaborated. that in every problem there lies a solu- ment. concil
India’s plastic exports declined by the corresponding period last year due
Adani group aims for 10-GW solar manufacturing 6.9 per cent to $34.5-bn in August this to a decline in sales of polyethylene
year, compared to the same month last terephthalate and polypropylene. India
capacity by 2027 year due to diffi cult global economic is among the top fi ve exporters of
factors, apex industry body, Plastics polyethylene terephthalate resin in the
Adani group is reportedly planning manufacturing in 2016, with a 1.2-GW Export Promotion Council (Plexconcil) world, Plexconcil added.
to build 10-GW of integrated solar cell and module manufacturing capa- has said. The overall plastic exports
manufacturing capacity by 2027, as it city. In less than 6 years, Adani Solar stood at $37-bn in August 2022, accord- India’s plastic trade, encompassing
looks to capture energy transition busi- enhanced its manufacturing capacity to ing to the data shared by Plexconcil. imports and exports, has experienced
ness. Adani Group currently has a solar more than three-fold to 4-GW module substantial growth over the past
manufacturing capacity of 4-GW. and 4-GW cell capacity today, making According to the data, there was a decade, surging from $19-bn in 2013-14
it one of the fastest-growing (in terms mixed performance among product cate- to $37-bn in 2022-23.
Adani Solar is said to have a con- of capacity expansion) solar manufac- gories as fl ooring, leather, laminates,
fi rmed order book of over 3,000-MW in turing companies. medical plastics, consumer and house- “Despite some product segments
exports that are to be serviced over the ware products, fi shnets and monofi la- laneous products and items witnessed encountering declines, there is strong
next 15 months. Adani recently raised Energy Ltd. (AGEL) – the listed re- Adani has built India’s largest solar ments, writing instruments and sta- decline in shipments. optimism that numbers will rebound in
$394-mn for solar manufacturing from newable energy generation entity of the PV capacity for cells and modules tionery, and human hair and related the coming months, driven by a posi-
Barclays and Deutsche Bank through a group, Adani Enterprises Ltd. (AEL) at the Mundra SEZ, and since incep- products reported an increase in ex- Exports of plastic raw materials tive business outlook and continued
trade fi nance facility. made strides in lining up and incubat- tion, Adani Solar has sold over 7-GW ports, while, woven sacks, woven fab- were also impacted in August, which government support,” Plexconcil’s Exe-
ing solar PV manufacturing with Adani of modules, catering to both Indian rics, tarpaulin, plastic fi lms and sheets, witnessed a decline of 27.7 percent to cutive Director, Mr. Sribash Dasmo-
After the success of Adani Green Solar in 2015. Adani Solar commenced and global demand. plastic pipes and fi ttings, and miscel- $239.4-mn, compared to $331-mn in hapatra said.

146 Chemical Weekly October 17, 2023 Chemical Weekly October 17, 2023 147

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