(a) whether the Government is aware of the significance of green communication in Information and Communication Technology (ICT);
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to utilise the green ICT in various sectors to gain maximum advantage from it?
THE MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)
(a) & (b) Yes, Madam. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), after due consultation, has given its recommendation dated 12.04.2011 on “An approach towards Green Telecom”. TRAI has mentioned in its recommendations that by 2020, ICT is expected to account for about 3% of global CO2 emissions worldwide and the total emission of the Indian telecom industry is expected to be around 1% percent of the country''s total CO2 emissions. However, Government has taken various steps for greening the sector by emphasizing on saving of fossil fuels by use of Renewable Energy Technology and reduction in carbon emission.
(c) On the basis of TRAI recommendations, Department of Telecommunications (DoT) issued directions in the January, 2012 regarding implementation of green technologies in telecom sector. The directives, inter-alia, spelt out the following :
(i) 75% of rural towers and 33% of urban towers are to be powered by hybrid power (Renewable Energy Technologies (RET) + Grid Power) by 2020.
(ii) The Service Providers have to ensure that the total power consumption of each BTS will not exceed 500W by the year 2020.
(iii) A phased programme should be put in place by the telecom service providers to have their cell sites, particularly in the rural areas, powered by hybrid renewable sources including wind energy, solar energy, fuel cells or a combination thereof.
(iv) Based on the details of footprints declared by all service providers, service providers should aim at Carbon Emission reduction targets for the mobile network at 5% by the year 2012-13, 8% by the year 2014-15, 12% by the year 2016-17 and 17% by the year 2018-19.
In order to examine the technical feasibility and financial viability of RET in Telecom Sector, DoT undertook 20 RET pilot projects in Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) Phase-I sites through Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) with subsidy support from USOF and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). In addition, 400 RET projects were taken up by various Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) with support from MNRE.
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