NEW DELHI (Reuters) – With four times the population of the United States, an economy growing 8-9 percent a year and surging energy demand, India’s race to become an economic power has propelled it to No. 3 in the list of top carbon polluters.

India’s greenhouse gas emissions will keep rising as it tries to lift millions out of poverty and connect nearly half a billion people to electricity grids. But it is also trying to curb emissions growth in a unique way, fearing the impacts of climate change and spiralling energy costs.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – With four times the population of the United States, an economy growing 8-9 percent a year and surging energy demand, India’s race to become an economic power has propelled it to No. 3 in the list of top carbon polluters.

India’s greenhouse gas emissions will keep rising as it tries to lift millions out of poverty and connect nearly half a billion people to electricity grids. But it is also trying to curb emissions growth in a unique way, fearing the impacts of climate change and spiralling energy costs.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – From a lack of data and trained manpower to dealing with inexperienced investors, India’s ambitious dream to boost solar power faces a host of problems that could slow plans to zoom production from near zero to 20 gigawatts by 2022.

Under its Solar Mission plan issued in 2009, India is to produce 1,300 megawatts (MW) of power by 2013, an additional supply of up to 10 gigawatts (GW) by 2017 and the rest by 2022 at an overall investment of about $70 billion.

BEIJING/NEW DELHI, May 20 (Reuters) – Beijing is complaining about the quality of iron ore
imported from its number three supplier India, but with China desperate to secure raw materials
for its steel mills, the trade is unlikely to slow.

The country’s steel output, already more than half the world’s, continues to power ahead
despite worries about monetary tightening, hitting a record daily high of 1.95 million tonnes in
the first 10 days of May.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Technological wizardry may have improved forecasting of the crucial monsoon rains in India, but success still remains, at best, patchy, making it tough for farmers to plan crops and meet demand in the trillion-dollar economy.

This year, the country has forecast a normal monsoon. In theory, that should mean higher farm output, which could tame food prices and help persuade the government to ease curbs on rice and wheat exports, benefiting other Asian economies that are struggling with food shortages.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s grain bins are overflowing and the forecast for a normal monsoon promises another bumper crop, but political disagreement over a bill to secure food rights for the poor means the country is expected to steer clear of large-scale exports.

Shipments from the world’s second-biggest producer of wheat, sugar and rice could come as a relief for governments across Asia who are trying to combat food-led inflation, but India needs to know how much to put aside for the food security bill before taking any decision on overseas sales.

NEW DELHI, May 9 (Reuters) – India’s grain bins are
overflowing and the forecast for a normal monsoon promises
another bumper crop, but political disagreement over a bill to
secure food rights for the poor means the country is expected to
steer clear of large-scale exports.

Shipments from the world’s second-biggest producer of wheat,
sugar and rice could come as a relief for governments across
Asia who are trying to combat food-led inflation, but India
needs to know how much to put aside for the food security bill
before taking any decision on overseas sales.

NEW DELHI, May 2 (Reuters) – South Korean steelmaker POSCO
, which wants to build a $12 billion steel plant in
eastern India, should not export raw materials, including iron
ore, from the proposed project, India’s environment minister
said on Monday.

POSCO signed an agreement with the Orissa state government
in 2005 and it was scheduled to begin production by the end of
2011. But protests, environmental worries and litigation over a
related mining concession have delayed what is India’s biggest
foreign direct investment.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – A panel backed by the environment ministry has suggested holding off green approvals for four proposed reactors at the Kudamkulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu on concerns over coastal degradation and safety that intensified after last month’s nuclear disaster in Japan.

The four nuclear reactors, of 1,000 Megawatts each, had initially received approvals from the environment ministry in 2008. Two of them are almost ready for commissioning.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – A panel backed by environment ministry has suggested holding off green approvals for four proposed nuclear reactors on concerns over coastal degradation and safety that intensified after last month’s nuclear disaster in Japan.

The four nuclear reactors, of 1,000 Megawatts each, being built in Kudamkulam in Tamil Nadu, had initially received approvals from the environment ministry in 2008. Two of them are almost ready for commissioning.