Renewable energy booms in Afghanistan
In addition to emerging solar projects, Afghanistan’s national utility company Da Afghanistan a $43 million wind power project will soon be launched in Herat province.
South Asia
Kerala, India to provide free high-speed internet to over 2 million poor families
The project aims to provide free high-speed internet to over 22 million below poverty line households by 2020.
India cancels plans for huge coal power stations as solar energy prices hit record low
India has cancelled plans to build nearly 14 gigawatts of coal-fired power stations – about the same as the total amount in the U.K. – with the price for solar electricity “free falling” to levels once considered impossible.
Murder rate in India drops steadily to lowest since 1963
The murder rate in India in 2017 was the lowest it has been in the last 54 years. With the exception of 1963, it has never been lower since 1957, the earliest year for which data on this rate is available.
Google Maps adds location of 57,000 public toilets in India
This according to the company will allow the Ministry to monitor visits, ratings, reviews and more, which can then be used by the Ministry to take necessary action to maintain and upgrade toilets.
India replaces ten million conventional streetlights with ‘energy-efficient’ LEDs
These LED streetlights have helped the country to reduce its greenhouse gas emission by 4.63 million tonnes annually.
The Indian state of Chhattisgarhwill not build any new coal power plants
The falling costs of solar power means that Chhattisgarh is likely to rely on using solar to fill up any excess demand.
Air pollution in Delhi drops 25% in four years
Five years ago, in 2014, a global study on air quality trends by the World Health Organisation had declared Delhi the most polluted city in the world.
Extreme poverty in Pakistan declines from 28% to 4% in 15 years
The extreme poverty (or below $1.9 per day poverty line) in Pakistan has gone down from 28.6 percent of total population in 2001 to 3.9 percent in 2015, Asian Development Bank said in a report.
India bans six single-use plastic products
India is set to impose a nationwide ban on plastic bags, cups and straws on Oct. 2, in its most sweeping measure yet to stamp out single-use plastics.