{"id":48138,"date":"2025-07-14T20:49:40","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T15:19:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=48138"},"modified":"2025-07-30T12:05:01","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T06:35:01","slug":"78-percent-coal-plants-fgd-exemption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/14-07-2025\/78-percent-coal-plants-fgd-exemption","title":{"rendered":"Environment Ministry Exempts 78% of Coal Plants From Installing FGD Systems"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/ Environment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has exempted nearly 78% of India\u2019s thermal power plants (TPPs) from installing Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) systems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD)?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>FGD systems<\/strong> are technologies used in coal-based thermal power plants to <strong>remove SO\u2082 from exhaust flue gases<\/strong> before they are released into the atmosphere.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mechanism: <\/strong>The most common FGD method involves using a <strong>wet scrubber <\/strong>that reacts with a <strong>limestone slurry<\/strong> to convert <strong>SO\u2082 into gypsum.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Purpose: <\/strong>Helps reduce acid rain, secondary particulate matter, and improves ambient air quality.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Categorisation of Thermal Power Plants (TPPs)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Category A: <\/strong>Comprises <strong>~11%<\/strong> of India\u2019s <strong>600 TPP units and <\/strong>has to <strong>mandatorily <\/strong>install FGD systems by<strong> December 30, 2027.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>These are located within <strong>10 km radius<\/strong> of the National Capital Region or are cities with a population of at least a million (2011 Census).\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Category B: <\/strong>Comprises another <strong>11%<\/strong> of TPP units and are located near Critically Polluted Areas (CPAs) or Non-Attainment Cities (NACs).\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Installation of FGD is subject to approval by the <strong>Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC).<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Deadline: <\/strong>December 30, 2028, if required.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Category C: <\/strong>\u00a0It comprises the remaining <strong>78%<\/strong> of TPP units. They are fully exempted from installing FGD systems and are mostly located in regions outside pollution hotspots.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>International Examples<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Countries like <strong>China and the United States<\/strong> have made FGDs <strong>mandatory <\/strong>across coal-based power plants.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>China achieved over <strong>95% SO\u2082 removal efficiency<\/strong> through nationwide installation of FGD systems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Concerns<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Health Impacts:<\/strong> SO\u2082 is a <strong>precursor to PM2.5<\/strong>, which can penetrate lungs and bloodstream. Chronic exposure is linked to asthma, heart disease, and premature death.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>According to the Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health 2022, pollution-related deaths in India exceeded <strong>2.3 million<\/strong> annually.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Violation of Polluter Pays Principle: <\/strong>Exempting TPPs from installing FGDs violates the environmental principle that polluters should bear the cost of pollution mitigation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Undermines Pollution Targets: <\/strong>\u00a0India\u2019s Clean Air Programme and <strong>COP26<\/strong> commitments are weakened by this decision.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Air Pollution Dispersion:<\/strong> Coal plants emit pollutants that travel up to <strong>200 km <\/strong>from the source.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Tall chimneys do not eliminate pollution<\/strong> but disperse it into wider areas, impacting rural populations and neighboring states.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Health-Cost Internalisation: <\/strong>Use models like the Health Impact Assessment (HIA) to account for medical costs, productivity loss, and mortality.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Accelerate Renewable Energy Transition: <\/strong>Shift focus towards cleaner sources like solar, wind, and biomass to reduce dependency on coal.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Pollution Control Mandates for All Categories: <\/strong>Pollution is not limited by administrative categories; hence, uniform emission norms should be enforced.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Build FGD Installation Capacity: <\/strong>Encourage Make in India initiatives to build indigenous capacity for FGD manufacturing and deployment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Public Disclosure and Monitoring:<\/strong> Real-time emissions data of SO\u2082, PM2.5, and other pollutants should be made publicly available for accountability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Concluding remarks<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Given the transboundary nature of pollution, and the growing burden of air-pollution-induced diseases, it is essential that India adopts a science-backed, health-centric, and equitable pollution control policy.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Environmental governance must be proactive, transparent, and aligned with both constitutional mandates under <strong>Article 21<\/strong> and India\u2019s global environmental commitments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/sci-tech\/energy-and-environment\/environment-ministry-exempts-78-of-coal-plants-from-installing-key-anti-polluting-systems\/article69804518\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has exempted nearly 78% of India\u2019s thermal power plants (TPPs) from installing Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) systems.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>What is Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD)?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">FGD systems are technologies used in coal-based thermal power plants to remove SO\u2082 from exhaust flue gases before they are released into the atmosphere.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Mechanism: The most common FGD method involves using a wet scrubber that reacts with a limestone slurry to convert SO\u2082 into gypsum.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Purpose: Helps reduce acid rain, secondary particulate matter, and improves ambient air quality.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/14-07-2025\/78-percent-coal-plants-fgd-exemption\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48138"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48138\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48156,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48138\/revisions\/48156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}