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IIT Roorkee Advances Sugarcane Farming with Successful ODOP Workshop

· Farmers Gain Insights on Modern Technology and Market Strategies
· Innovative Solutions and Government Support Drive Sustainable Jaggery Production
· Enhancing Productivity and Market Linkages for Local Jaggery Producers
· A Collaborative Approach to Improving Jaggery Production and Farmer Support

Roorkee, Uttarakhand : The Department of Design at IIT Roorkee, in partnership with the Design Innovation Centre and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Invest India, Ministry of Commerce successfully hosted a transformative two-day workshop under the One District One Product (ODOP) initiative on September 6-7, 2024. The workshop, which drew 45 local farmers, was aimed at enhancing jaggery production through modern technology and innovative practices.

The workshop was inaugurated by Prof. K. K. Pant, Director of IIT Roorkee, who highlighted the significance of academic and local stakeholder collaboration said, “Our commitment is to bridge the gap between academic research and practical solutions that address real-world challenges. This workshop is a testament to our dedication to supporting local communities through sustainable and innovative practices. Our efforts in the ‘Vocal for Local’ initiative are aimed at empowering local farmers, enhancing regional economies, and fostering community development. By integrating advanced practices and technologies, we are not only improving efficiency but also creating valuable market linkages for jaggery production.”

Throughout the event, participants engaged in discussions on improving jaggery production with a focus on modern technology, hygiene standards, and market linkages. Experts from IIT Roorkee delivered comprehensive sessions on topics such as sustainable packaging, food safety, and available government funding schemes.

Prof. Inderdeep Singh, Dean of Infrastructure at IIT Roorkee, who is also the Coordinator of the Design Innovation Center, emphasized the workshop’s impact, saying, “By integrating advanced practices and technologies into local production processes, we are not only improving efficiency but also empowering farmers to thrive in competitive markets.”

The ODOP workshop at IIT Roorkee provided a comprehensive overview of the jaggery industry, offering invaluable insights into current practices and emerging opportunities. Key sessions focused on food safety and hygiene, emphasizing best practices to ensure high-quality products. The workshop also addressed sustainable packaging solutions, showcasing innovative methods to minimize environmental impact. Modern practices and technology interventions were discussed to boost productivity, while marketing and branding strategies were explored to strengthen market presence. Additionally, the workshop highlighted various government funding schemes and policies available to support farmers. IIT Roorkee played a pivotal role in this initiative, leveraging its expertise and resources to bridge the gap between academic research and practical application. By integrating advanced knowledge and fostering collaboration with local stakeholders, IIT Roorkee is driving sustainable agricultural practices and enhancing the overall efficiency of jaggery production.

The workshop addressed significant challenges faced by local farmers, including traditional weeding and harvesting practices. By offering actionable insights and solutions, the event aimed to boost productivity and efficiency in jaggery production. The participation of IIT Roorkee’s esteemed faculty members and ODOP officials underscored the collaborative effort to foster sustainable agricultural practices.
IIT Roorkee’s ODOP workshop has made a meaningful impact by equipping local sugarcane farmers with the knowledge and tools necessary for modern and sustainable jaggery production. This initiative not only enhances local agricultural practices but also strengthens the collaboration between academic institutions, government bodies, and local communities. IIT Roorkee continues to be at the forefront of innovation and community support, driving progress in both research and practical applications.

UN Secretary-General: Let’s work to deliver renewable energy that powers a fairer

Following are Secretary-General António Guterre’s message on the launch of the Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals Report, in New York on 11 September:

Today’s report from the Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals is a how-to guide to help generate prosperity and equality alongside clean power. The report makes recommendations on critical minerals, at a crucial time.

We established the Panel in response to calls from developing countries, amid signs that the energy transition could reproduce and amplify inequalities of the past – banishing developing countries to the bottom of value chains to watch others grow rich by exploiting their people and putting their environment in jeopardy.

This report identifies ways to ground the renewables revolution in justice and equity, so that it spurs sustainable development, respects people, protects the environment, and powers prosperity in resource-rich developing countries. It sets out seven Guiding Principles to direct action across the value chain, and five Actionable Recommendations to help put them into practice, and address key gaps in international governance.

As next steps, I have asked the Co-Chairs and Panel to consult and share the report and its recommendations with Member States and other stakeholders ahead of COP29 later this year.

We will bring the UN system together to support implementation of the Panel’s work, safeguarding and advancing human rights, including the rights of Indigenous Peoples, across the critical minerals value chain. Through all this, civil society, young people and Indigenous Peoples must be heard and have a seat at the table.

I thank the panel members for their work, particularly the Co-Chairs, Nozipho Joyce Mxakato-Diseko and Ditte Juul Jørgensen. I commend them for breaking new ground, with a set of principles and recommendations on many complex, contested issues.

Together, let’s work to deliver renewable energy that powers a fairer, more just and more prosperous future for all.

UN-convened panel releases recommendations for governments and industry to guide the global energy transition

Actionable recommendations and guiding principles aim to advance fairness and justice across critical energy transition mineral value chains on the way to net-zero emissions

New York — With demand for minerals critical to renewable energy technologies expected to almost triple by 2030, a diverse expert panel, convened by the UN Secretary-General, has issued a set of recommendations and guiding principles for governments, industry and other stakeholders to ensure the opportunities of the global energy transition are pursued with equity, justice and sustainability.

“Today’s report from the Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals is a how-to guide to help generate prosperity and equality alongside clean power. The report makes recommendations on critical minerals, at a crucial time,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said. “This report identifies ways to ground the renewables revolution in justice and equity, so that it spurs sustainable development, respects people, protects the environment, and powers prosperity in resource-rich developing countries,” the Secretary-General said, adding that, “as next steps, I have asked the Co-Chairs and Panel to consult and share the report and its recommendations with Member States and other stakeholders ahead of COP29 later this year.”

The panel’s report – Resourcing the energy transition: principles to guide critical energy transition minerals towards equity and justice – identifies ways to ground the renewables revolution in justice and equity, so that it spurs sustainable development, respects people, protects the environment, and powers prosperity in resource-rich developing countries. The report puts forward recommendations for fairness, transparency, investment, sustainability and human rights, not just where minerals are mined, but along the entire minerals value chain, from refining and manufacturing, to transport and end-of-use recycling.

“This is a time when cooperation is paramount for nations to effectively address multiple crises,” said Ambassador Nozipho Joyce Mxakato-Diseko of South Africa, Co-Chair of the Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals. “With climate change at the center of these crises, there is urgency to work together with a clear understanding that we either sink together or rise together, on the basis of the common values that have bound nations together thus far, with human rights, justice, equity and benefit sharing guiding us towards shared global prosperity. Development is an imperative for global economic growth. Central to the proposed seven guiding principles for critical energy transition minerals is the need for such cooperation, justice and equity and above all development with respect for human rights at the core.”

“I would like to commend the UN Secretary-General’s leadership in tackling such a transformational issue,” said Director-General for Energy Ditte Juul Jørgensen of the European Commission, Co-Chair of the Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals. “This is what multilateralism is all about. Last year at COP28, all countries agreed to triple the global renewables capacity and double energy efficiency. Demand for critical minerals will skyrocket. We must now seize the opportunity to grow our economies, protect our societies, preserve our environment, and share benefits more justly while we tackle the climate crisis. We cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the past. I hope we can now turn these principles and recommendations into reality on the ground. Only in this way, we will tap the potential of the energy transition and create new and shared benefits for all.”

The principles build on existing international norms and legal obligations to which governments have already committed, and are accompanied by a set of specific, actionable recommendations for everyone to benefit from the opportunities inherent in a transition to renewable energy.

The panel’s recommendations range from establishing a high-level expert advisory group housed within the United Nations to facilitate multistakeholder policy dialogue and coordination on economic issues in mineral value chains, to a global traceability, transparency and accountability framework, to creating a fund to address legacy issues as a result of derelict, ownerless or abandoned mines, to empowering artisanal and small-scale miners to become agents of transformation to foster development, environmental stewardship and human rights, to strengthening material efficiency and circularity.

Limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, to avert the worst impacts of climate change, will depend on the sufficient, reliable and affordable supply of critical energy transition minerals such as copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements, which are essential components of clean energy technologies – from wind turbines and solar panels to electric vehicles and battery storage.

At COP28, governments agreed to triple renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030. There is no pathway to achieving this goal without a significant increase of supply of critical energy transition minerals. According to the International Energy Agency, mineral demand for clean energy applications is set to almost triple by 2030 on the pathway to reaching global net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.

Developing countries with large reserves of critical energy transition minerals have an opportunity to transform and diversify their economies, create green jobs, and foster sustainable local development. However, mineral resource development has not always met this promise. Without proper management, increased demand for these minerals risks perpetuating commodity dependence, exacerbating geopolitical tensions, and poses environmental and social challenges with adverse impacts on sustainable development including on livelihoods, the environment, health, human security and human rights.

Responding to calls from developing countries for globally agreed guidance to ensure responsible, fair and just value chains, the panel, established by the UN Secretary-General on 26 April 2024, brought together governments, intergovernmental and international organizations, industry, and civil society to build trust, guide the just transition and accelerate the race to renewables. Panel meetings were supplemented by a programme of consultations and dialogues with a broad range of stakeholders, including with industry and civil society.

The recommendations recognize the central role of the Secretary-General and the UN as an honest broker and convener of diverse interests on a complex and challenging set of issues critical to the energy transition and achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.

As next steps, the Secretary General asked the Co-Chairs and Panel to socialize the report and its recommendations with Member States and other stakeholders ahead of COP29 later this year.

Acharya Lokesh Ji addresses the special session of meditation for UPSC exams aspirants

New Delhi: Founder of Ahimsa Vishwa Bharti and World Peace Centre Jain Acharya Lokesh addressed the special meditation session organized for the students preparing for Civil Services (UPSC) exams. Acharyashri addressing the students present at Ahimsa Yoga and Meditation Centre said that by practicing different techniques of meditation one can increases concentration to give better results in examinations.

World Peace Ambassador Acharyshri Lokesh said that in meditation, first of all one has to practice controlling the body, then controlling the breathing and then controlling the mind. Deep breathing is very important practice which has to be performed regularly. Deep breathing exercises relieves stress, improves breathing capacity, and regulates blood pressure and heart rate, bring emotional balance and stability at work.

On the occasion, Civil Services aspirants were curious about many things. Answering their questions, he discussed in detail about the importance of daily routine, diet, etc. and said that most of the students here are preparing for the exams by staying away from their families, hence it is necessary to pay special attention to diet and daily routine.

Yogacharya Dev Chandra Jha said that regular practice of yoga and meditation is necessary. It creates a healthy body and balanced emotions and mind. He informed about the morning and evening sessions conducted at Ahimsa Yoga and Meditation Center for regular practice of yoga and meditation.

All the students welcomed Acharyashree with shawl. On this occasion, Ahimsa Vishwa Bharti workers Mrs. Kenu Agarwal, Ms. Tarakeshwari Mishra, and Mr. Zayauddin Javed were also present.

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