On 30/10/2023, Dr V. Balaji (1981, Physics Alumnus of IITK) Distinguished Fellow, Schmidt Futures, delivered a talk under the Institute Lecture Series on “Climate models: whence they came, where they’re going and why you should trust them”.
Climate models play a crucial role in understanding our planet’s future. During his presentation, Dr Balaji gave an overall view of the growth of climate models and how they have evolved over the years to help better predict climate pattern changes and weather. These models can understand many small-scale phenomena that have intricate feedback in the Earth’s system and can have global repercussions. He especially, stressed how climate models are computing intensive and how one can tackle this issue by harnessing the data and applying machine learning approaches to get insights into climate science that could be quite accurate. He emphasised combining the physical knowledge, and computation power, with the large body of data in new and innovative ways for improved climate modelling and better predictions over a long period.

"Congratulations! Prof. Raju Kumar Gupta, Faculty, Department of Chemical Engineering & Associated Faculty, Chandrakanta Kesavan Center for Energy Policy & Climate Solutions, IIT Kanpur for being appointed as a Founding Editor for a newly launched Elsevier journal, "Sustainable Chemistry One World". Read more

"We need to ramp up air quality monitoring in NCR, and we need to have a more responsive regulatory system. This means we need to improve capacity — people who understand this kind of data should be able to rapidly analyse and make use of it. This needs to be backed up with large-scale policy decisions like ensuring access to LPG across NCR." emphasised Prof S N Tripathi, Adjunct Faculty, Chandrakanta Kesavan Center for Energy Policy & Climate Solutions at Deptt of Sustainable Energy IIT Kanpur. Read more

In the session "Fostering Cross-sector Collaborations for Climate and Sustainability Action in India," moderated by Mr. Ashish Garg, Professor and Head, Sustainable Energy Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, he set the context with the quote: "Climate action is the cause we should work together towards so that our planet survives for the future and meets their needs."



Here are some insights from the panel:

• Mr. Pratyush Panda, LTIMindtree, emphasized, "As professionals from this sector, we need to incorporate sustainability into our daily lives."
• Mr. Pranjal Jyoti Goswami, Gokaldas Exports Limited, stated, "We are one of the sectors that contribute to biodiversity loss, so we consider climate change as a multiplier leading to economic loss. The bigger question is how to mitigate this through collaboration for innovation, knowledge, and business."
• Ms. Shilpashree Muniswamappa, Colgate-Palmolive Palmolive India, noted: "India consumes 5 billion toothpaste and 2 billion toothbrushes every year. Can one company create that change? No, so yes collaboration is required. India is way ahead in recycling than many other countries but yes still there is a need for system change."
• Ms. Shirin Kujur, Azure Power, added: "People think that the RE sector is where everything would be green, but for us, in our sector, sustainability has become a mantra where we are looking at where we can contribute to sustainability."
• Mr. Nirbhay Lumde, CGI Asia Pacific Global Delivery Centers of Excellence, CGI, shared: "Sustainability is very close to our heart, and by 2030, we are targeting net zero."

We are pleased to inform you that Mr. Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi has joined our Department of Sustainable Energy Engineering and Kesavan Center as a Visiting Professor of practice. Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi was a member of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) for more than thirty-five years before his retirement in October 2022. During his career in the IAS, he held positions in a diverse range of areas. His work in the erstwhile Planning Commission from 2004 to 2008, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) from 2008 to 2014, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at Washington DC from 2014 to 2017 inter-alia pertained to design and implementation of economic policies. For the last about five and half years of his career, he worked in areas pertaining to sustainability- as Additional Chief Secretary, Forest and Environment, Government of Jharkhand from 2017 to 2020 and Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India from 2020 to 2022. The notable work done during his tenure in MNRE included design of two Production Linked Incentive schemes for solar manufacturing and the development of the Green Hydrogen Mission. He is currently also working as Director General, Electric Power Transmission Association (EPTA), an association of electric transmission companies undertaking advocacy for the transmission sector. He current interests include issues related to the energy transition and the environment. He is also interested in the design features that make public policies economically sound, administratively implementable and politically feasible.

Indu Shekhar holds a B.Tech. degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT-Kanpur and a Master in Public Administration in International Development (MPAID) degree from Kennedy School, Harvard University, USA.

We are pleased to inform you that Dr Ankur Awadhiya has joined our Kesavan Center and Department of Sustainable Energy Engineering as a Visiting Associate Professor of Practice. He is currently serving as an Indian Forest Service officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur has developed a mobile laboratory equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. This innovative lab is capable of identifying pollution factors within a span of two days, a process that would traditionally take up to two years. This advancement is a significant component of the Advanced Technologies for Monitoring Air Quality Indicators Number (ATMAN) project. Two mobile labs are currently being prepared, and they will be deployed in major cities for a duration of one year. These labs will be systematically rotated across industrial, commercial, residential, and quiet areas such as hospitals and schools. Utilizing cutting-edge sensors, the labs will swiftly and accurately analyze pollution data with the assistance of AI. The resulting reports will be shared with the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board, the Rural Development Department, and Municipal Corporations in various cities. This comprehensive approach aims to address pollution at its source and facilitate effective solutions. Read Article

On the initiative of the Central Government, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur has taken a major step for the betterment of the environment. In the project, air quality sensors will be installed in 1356 blocks of 113 districts of Uttarpradesh and Bihar states. It will also give information about temperature along with pollution. Read Article

Infosys Limited has signed MoU with us for co-create a sustainable and green campus at IITK aligned with carbon neutrality goals of IITK.

IIT Kanpur and MES Jhansi have signed a MoU to convert five army cantonments to carbon neutral campuses.
Read Article

RITES Limited Delhi has signed MoU with us for research and development activities on products like technology assessment, transport infrastructure planning & design projects.

I am pleased to inform you that a paper has recently been published in Nature Geoscience by Ms. Suneeti Mishra under supervision of Prof. S. N. Tripathi. The paper provides mechanistic understanding of nanoparticle growth in Delhi and the findings have important implications to human health and climate The paper is also highlighted by the editorial in the same issue too.
Read Article

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. Mumbai has signed MoU with us for strategic research initiative in the field of development of sustainable technologies, transportaion and mobility and translation of technology advancements for societal benefits.

Sprih Labs Private Ltd. Pune has signed NDA with us for collaborating research opportunities in the field of carbon neutrality domain.

An article published in The Indian Express under Idea Exchange Section, titled "strengthen pollution regulators, get more staff, train them in tech and back up with stringent norms ", an Interview of Prof Sachchida Nand Tripathi where he talks about the 'low hanging fruits' approach to managing air pollution, wind patterns which magnify the impact of stubble burning, crop diversification and a realistic AQI assessment for Delhi. Read Article

An article published in The Indian Express under Experts Explain Section, titled "What it will take to fulfill India's solar power dream", written by Prof. Ashish Garg and Prof. Rajeev Jindal. Read Article

joint team of researchers from IIT-Kanpur and Australia-based La Trobe University will study and try to mitigate pollution in the river Ganga. The tie-up between the two institutes aims at transforming the river cleanliness programme into a community-centric project for the rejuvenation of Ganga. The field site of the research will be Kanpur and Varanasi. read more

We are delighted to share that Prof. Sachhidanand Tripathi's has become member of "Sustainability of The Association of Academies and Societies in Sciences in Asia"(AASSA).

Delighted to share link of panel discussion on Commission for Air Quality Management in Delhi NCR and adjacent region wherein Prof Sachchida Nand Tripathi gave his views on CAQM and ways to strengthen it to achieve clean air for Delhi NCR. Video Link

We are delighted to share that Prof. Sachhidanand Tripathi's has been invited to join"Transactions of INAE"- the flagship journal of Indian National Academy of Engineering as an Editor.
(click here)

Prof. Sachhidanand Tripathi’s (Professor, Department of Civil Engineering) Mudda on "दिल्ली एनसीआर को एक मानकर हो सुधार" has been published in Dainik Jagran.
(click here to read the article)

Prof. Sachhidanand Tripathi’s (Professor, Department of Civil Engineering) article titled "Why tackling air pollution is a win, win" has been published in The Hindu Businessline.
(click here to read the article)