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Newly-operationalised airports improve connectivity, boost tourism and trade, and generate employment (infrastructure and airport-allied services). But the success of the UDAN scheme rests on the footfall witnessed by these airports over time. Although affordable airfare is a prime factor for travellers, the question remains whether this aspect alone is sufficient to make air travel feasible for the common man.

The impacts of climate variability, climate change, and extreme events are visible globally and in India. The Global Climate Risk Index 2021 ranks India seventh, considering the extent to which India has been affected by the impacts of weather-related loss events (storms, floods, heatwaves, etc.). The index signals that repercussions of escalating climate change are exacerbating and can no longer be ignored.

India’s energy sector will face two key challenges in the future. Firstly, there is the rising energy demand from a developing economy, whose priority remains bringing people out of poverty. For a country heavily dependent on fossil-fuel imports, there are high costs to meeting this demand. Secondly, India has set an ambitious target of becoming a net-zero economy by 2070. These are strong climate commitments and require the entire energy sector to reduce its overall emissions and mitigate the effects of the global climate crisis.

Extreme and unpredictable changes in the climate are a cause of serious concern globally. In India, the impacts of climate change are already profound. The second part of the Sixth Assessment Report (Working Group II contribution) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released in early 2022, has referred to India as one of the countries to be most “economically harmed” by climate change. The situation mandates urgent nationwide measures to build climate resilience by mitigating climate-related adversities and enabling adaptation.

Electrolysers used in the production of hydrogen from water are electrochemical energy-conversion devices. These find application in most areas requiring decarbonisation, with higher potential in sectors such as transport and power, which are currently carbon-intensive.

What we are seeing in Bengaluru today is a mixture of events happening at two different levels.

India’s aviation market is the third largest worldwide, after the United States of America (USA) and China. Various government policies and initiatives, including the Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) Policy, which aimed at enhancing rural connectivity, have aided in the growth of the sector.