Good morning, Bengaluru!
🌤️ Today’s weather: It’s going to be very warm with some hazy sunshine.
🧐 Did you know? On Sunday, music composer Ricky Kej bagged a Grammy for Best Immersive Audio Album for his latest album Divine Tides. He became the only Indian to have won three Grammy awards. Kej started his music career as a keyboardist for Angel Dust, a Bengaluru-based progressive-rock band.
Correction: There was an error in the poll result that was sent yesterday. The corrected poll result is given below. We regret the error.
- I prefer travelling by train: 63.6% 🏆
- I prefer travelling by flight: 36.4%
☘️ Green initiatives at India Energy Week
The schemes will display India’s prowess in energy transition.
Story so far: India Energy Week (IEW) kicked off on February 6 with 30,000 delegates, 1,000 exhibitors, 500 speakers, and 30 ministers participating in the event. PM Narendra Modi launched three green energy initiatives: the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd’s ‘Unbottled’ project, a solar cooking system, and an E20 fuel pilot.
- The Unbottled project proposes recycling Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottles to make yarn for clothes for frontline workers of oil marketing companies, non-combat uniforms for the Armed Forces, and other institutions. By recycling 100 million PET bottles annually, it expects to lead the PET bottle recycling space.
- The Solar Cooking System can function on electricity in the event of insufficient solar power. Its commercial availability will increase the usage of solar energy for cooking.
- The E20 fuel pilot will see the blending of Ethanol, a naturally occurring biofuel, with petrol to reduce the latter’s consumption. It will first be introduced in 84 outlets in 11 states before a nationwide launch.
Why it matters? India’s energy agenda strives to be inclusive, market-based, and climate-sensitive. This involves intensifying local production of energy, de-carbonization, and transitioning from fossil fuels to alternative energy.
- With the IEW, the GOI hopes to spotlight energy efficiency, give impetus to biofuels and hydrogen, and expedite the shift to renewable energy.
- During the event, the prime minister pitched India’s energy sector for global investments to expand opportunities for domestic exploration and the production of traditional hydrocarbons.
⚡ Demand for EV charging points
The city’s EV sector will get more attention from the state and power distribution authorities.
Story so far: Increasing popular preference for Electric Vehicles (EV) has led to a rise in demand for public EV charging points. According to data from the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM), EV charging point usage has grown by 197% since December 2021. As a response, BESCOM has decided to set up more public charging stations and form an EV accelerator cell to bolster EV projects in the city.
- The EV accelerator cell will be a repository of EV-related information for policy initiatives. It will tailor-make e-mobility action plans for Bengaluru and monitor the charging stations’ usage.
- The cell will coordinate with all the concerned stakeholders from the central government, transport authorities, and the local civic body. It will also locate appropriate spots to install new charging stations.
Why it matters? The EV sector in India is rapidly growing in demand and innovation. The government’s push for EVs will allow metro cities in India to curtail pollution and energy consumption and transition to sustainable modes of transportation. In 2017, the Karnataka government was quick to define an EV policy. An accelerator cell will beef up the government’s initiatives.
💢 Rage Room in the city
A 23-year-old recognises the overlooked need for proactively managing anger.
Story so far: At 2:30 am, when Ananya Shetty was overcome by anger at something, her friend recommended breaking things. However, after scouring the internet for rage rooms, she realised there were none in the city. The rage room the IIT Madras alumna thus devised as a form of destruction therapy is in Basavanagudi and available to visitors.
- The room will provide people with an outlet for their pent-up emotions, which may ultimately help in regulating one’s mood for the rest of the day or even alleviate trauma-induced distress.
- The rage room offers glass items, metal objects, plastic items, and many other things to destroy to induce catharsis.
Why it matters? Rage rooms were first seen in 2008 in Japan when its economic recession veritably increased stress and frustration among the workers. Since then, the idea has gradually spread to other countries, including India.
- In metro cities where spaces are cramped and one either shares walls with their family or flatmates and friends, the opportunity to seek temporary relief from frustrations is limited. Rage rooms bridge this gap by making breaking things and screaming possible.
🧪 Science Gallery gets grant
Science gallery gets a grant to bring science back into culture.
Story so far: Kitchen appliances company TTK Prestige awarded its corporate social responsibility grant worth ₹5 crore to the Science Gallery Bengaluru (SGB). SGB will utilise the grant amount to develop its Public Lab Complex, a cohort of experimental spaces in the SGB premises for conducting all kinds of science and humanities research.
- The complex will include labs dedicated to natural sciences, food, materials, new media, black box theatre, humanities, numbers, and theory.
- The lab complex will be a place to study sustainable food systems and create open-source technologies that allow experimentation and innovation. The experimental space will help researchers pursue new techniques in gastronomy, food tech, and nutrition.
Why it matters? SGB aims to disrupt the boundaries between natural sciences, engineering, arts, and the humanities to bring the youth and the public within the fold of science and experimentation. The lab complex is a step towards developing community engagement and producing knowledge that is responsive and accessible to people.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
If you could time travel just once, would you go to the past or the future?
- I would travel to the past.
- I would travel to the future.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
Who is your favourite South Asian musician?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- 108 Namma Clinics were inaugurated in Bengaluru yesterday.
- Desilting work at Bellandur Lake has come to a halt.
- A car belonging to a BJP MLA’s relative hits multiple vehicles on a busy road.
- Flights will be partially suspended at Bengaluru airport during the Aero India show.
- BBMP spent ₹119.23 crore in the last three years to fix potholes, but the problem remains recalcitrant.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll:
- I prefer staying up late to finish work: 58.3% 🏆
- I prefer getting up early to finish work: 41.7%
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
What is one memory you would revisit from school?
Thulz: “The time which I spent with my friends.”
That’s it for today. Have a great day!