What to Read in Indian Express Editorial( Topic and Syllabus wise)

Editorial 1 : The missing mining drive

Context

When it comes to critical minerals, India cannot rely on China — it needs to fast track its own exploration.

The age of Critical minerals

• The evolution of human civilisation is intrinsically linked to the use of metals. Around 7,000 years ago, civilisation made a great leap from the Neolithic Age to the Chalcolithic Age.
• Subsequently, it grew more advanced as it moved to the Bronze Age and then the Iron Age.
• Coal powered the first industrial revolution of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Oil and its derivatives fuelled the second industrial revolution and global prosperity in the second half of the 20th century. Now, the long 21st century is going to be the critical minerals age.

Taken the centre-stage

• Minerals have also taken centre-stage in the global trade war.China is using its disproportionate control over rare earth materials to threaten the US and the rest of the world with the debilitating consequences of restricted supply.
• Twenty or even 10 years ago, the thought of critical minerals or rare earths being at the centre of global conflict, whether geopolitical or geoeconomic, would not have been taken very seriously.
• The only natural resource that figured in the context of international security and strategy was oil. Since then, two things have happened. First, a growing consciousness about climate change. Second, technological advancement towards a fourth industrial revolution.
• The technologies that help mitigate climate change — by enabling a substitution of fossil fuels like coal and oil — are heavily mineral-intensive.
• An electric vehicle uses six times the minerals a conventional vehicle does,largely because its battery is made of lithium, cobalt and nickel.
• Renewable energy infrastructurefor solar and wind power is also mineral-intensive. For example, an offshore wind infrastructure project consumes nine times the minerals that a conventional power plant would.

AI as mineral-intensive

• The fourth industrial revolution, which involves AI, robotics and big data, is also mineral-intensive.
• For example, any digital or digital connectivity infrastructure requires copper in large quantities.
• Copper is critical because of its electrical conductivity. Data centres, the backbone of big data and AI, consume a lot of copper.
• As the adoption of these technologies grows, the demand-supply gap of critical minerals will grow.

The concerns

• The biggest risk to the emerging landscape is the heavy concentration in the supply of critical minerals, much greater than the concentration in oil.
• There are two stages of the value chain that are of concern.First, the extraction of the metal ore from the surface.
• Second, the processing of that ore into usable metal. There is a high degree of concentration in the first.
• Cobalt comes almost exclusively from Congo. Indonesia dominates the mining of nickel,almost 50 per cent of the global supply.
• China alone accounts for two-thirds of global rare earths mining. Australia, Chile and China account for a majority of lithium mining.
• In processing, there is complete dominance across the board by just one country, China. Sixty-six per cent of the processing of critical minerals (also including copper and aluminium) takes place in China.
• For rare earths, this goes up to more than 90 per cent. China alone can bring the global EV industry to a halt by restricting the supply of rare earths.

Way forward

• Neither the US nor India can rely on China.It is time to emulate America’s policies and fast track the exploration of critical minerals. As a country that is geologically rich, India must explore within.

 

Editorial 2 : Cooling: Necessity and emergency

Context

The Indian government’s move to limit AC temperatures between 20°C and 28°C is a small technical step with major symbolic significance in rethinking our approach to cooling.

Fastest growing sector

• Cooling is the fastest-growing energy-consuming sector in India. With economic growth, rising urbanisation, and more intense and frequent heat waves, demand for air conditioning is surging.
• Cooling now accounts for a significant share of electricity consumption, and this is expected to rise exponentially. In Delhi, for example, ACs now account for nearly 40 per cent of the city’s annual electricity use.
• Even with modest penetration, ACs are already a major driver of peak electricity demand, prompting the installation of new coal-fired power plantsjust to meet summertime surges.
• In a country heavily reliant on coal, this directly undermines efforts to reduce emissions and meet climate targets.
• Additionally, the grid — under pressure from this rising load — is becoming increasingly vulnerable to stress and blackouts.

The issues

• This growth in AC use is particularly problematic because it relies primarily on vapour compression technology— the most energy-intensive and environmentally damaging cooling method.
• The climate cost of an AC extends well beyond electricity.Most ACs in India use hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants — super greenhouse gases with global warming potentials hundreds or even thousands of times higher than carbon dioxide (CO2).
• Due to frequent leakage and poor servicing practices, these gases are typically refilled every two to three years.
• A typical 1.5-2.0 ton AC contains around 2 kg of HFCs, which, if released, equates to roughly 1.5 tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions.
• And the total climate impact comes to around 2.25 tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions annually.

Now a basic need

• Yet cooling is no longer a luxury. It has become a basic need. It is essential for health, productivity, and even social stability.
• Research shows that hot, sleepless nights are linked to increased aggression and violence.
• For the poor and vulnerable, the lack of cooling is not just uncomfortable, it can be fatal.
• The challenge, therefore, is to make cooling both accessible and sustainable. India cannot afford billions of energy-guzzling ACs.
• What we need is a complete reimagining of how we keep our homes, offices, and cities cool in ways that serve all people.

Both accessible and sustainable

• Buildings and urban layouts must be designed to stay cool naturally, using high-insulating building materials, shaded façades, reflective roofs, cross-ventilation, and landscaping.
• Cities must be made cooler through more green spaces, water bodies, reduced asphalt, and materials that lower heat absorption.
• India must invest in alternatives like centralised cooling and district cooling systems (DCS)— networks that supply chilled water through pipes to buildings, which can then be used for cooling.
• DCS can reduce cooling demand by 30-40 per centand cut electricity bills in half. Hyderabad Pharma City, therefore aims to install one of the largest DCS facilities in Asia.
• At the same time, India must accelerate the development and deployment of super-efficient ACs.
• These innovations must be fast-tracked through targeted subsidies, smart regulations, and market transformation programmes to ensure both affordability and wide-scale adoption.
• Finally, cooling must be made inclusive. While the rich rely on air conditioners, the majority of India’s population remains vulnerable to extreme heat with little or no access to cooling.
• Ironically, ACs disproportionately affect the poor through overloaded grids, blackouts, and intensified urban heat islands.
• So, India should develop low-cost technologies that consume less energy.Public cooling shelters must be established in high-heat, high-poverty areas.
• Policies must prioritise access for those most at risk — street vendors, workers, slum dwellers, and the elderly. Solutions like shared cooling spaces should be built into urban planning.

Way forward

• Cooling is now a developmental necessity — but also an environmental and energy emergency. How we choose to cool will shape not only our physical comfort but also our economic resilience and environmental future.