188
5 Fourth Industrial Revolution and India
iv. Innovators and intellectuals will be in huge demand—countries with storehouses
of intellectuals and innovators will be the wealthiest vis-à-vis country having
unskilled and semi-skilled manpower.
v. Shift in energy production—It is expected that the fourth industrial revolution
will be less damaging to the environment and usher in more sustainable production systems. Production systems today are responsible for 35% of all global
electricity use, generate 20% of CO 2 emissions, and account for a quarter of all
extractions of primary resources adversely impacting the environment by the
over-exploitation of natural resources, the pollution/destruction of ecosystems,
and reduction in biodiversity.
The task before India is arduous for three reasons. The population growth, lack of
adequate skill among the young and middle age group, and sustainability of resources.
India will have to continuously endeavor for diversifying its energy resources besides
developing a cadre of highly skilled (especially digital skill) manpower to counter
the challenges from competing nations. Time moves at an unprecedented pace and
next three decades will be extremely challenging for India as the fourth phase of
industrial revolution is all set to change the global energy landscape.
The roadmap for acquisition and acceptance of cleaner energy is beset with
potholes. Since wind does not always blow and sun does not shine all the time
in all parts of the globe, it is difficult to match electricity output with demand all the
time. While many developed countries, including India are fast moving toward solar
and wind energy, but their intermittent supply makes efficiency and storage of energy
equally important. Scientists are now working to develop batteries that can store huge
amount of electricity and make it available to grid operators when required. Efforts
are ongoing to have smaller power stations well distributed over large area rather
than a large power station with grid connectivity spread all over. This makes lot of
sense for renewables as one can generate and store electricity cheaply and reliably if
these smaller units are combined with better quality light-weight batteries with vast
storage capacity. In short, the renewable energy sector is aspiring for the following:
• Maximize conversion of solar and wind energy to electrical energy per unit time
and area.
• Develop batteries that are small, compact, and lightweight with very high storage
capacity.
• Minimize per unit cost of electricity so generated to less than that generated from
non-renewable sources.
Researchers in many countries are currently looking for solar cells that can absorb
maximum photons per unit area and store maximum energy in small and light-weight
batteries to ensure sustained supply of energy during lean period. Solar cells are made
of semiconductors such as silicon and perovskites.
24 Traditional solar cells based on
silicon semiconductors are not very effective in converting photons to electricity.
The reason is that silicon semiconductors absorb energy from the photons of shorter
24 Perovskite is a calcium titanium oxide mineral composed of calcium titanate (CaTiO 3 ). Perovskite
solar cells convert ultraviolet and visible light into electricity very efficiently.
5 Fourth Industrial Revolution and India
iv. Innovators and intellectuals will be in huge demand—countries with storehouses
of intellectuals and innovators will be the wealthiest vis-à-vis country having
unskilled and semi-skilled manpower.
v. Shift in energy production—It is expected that the fourth industrial revolution
will be less damaging to the environment and usher in more sustainable production systems. Production systems today are responsible for 35% of all global
electricity use, generate 20% of CO 2 emissions, and account for a quarter of all
extractions of primary resources adversely impacting the environment by the
over-exploitation of natural resources, the pollution/destruction of ecosystems,
and reduction in biodiversity.
The task before India is arduous for three reasons. The population growth, lack of
adequate skill among the young and middle age group, and sustainability of resources.
India will have to continuously endeavor for diversifying its energy resources besides
developing a cadre of highly skilled (especially digital skill) manpower to counter
the challenges from competing nations. Time moves at an unprecedented pace and
next three decades will be extremely challenging for India as the fourth phase of
industrial revolution is all set to change the global energy landscape.
The roadmap for acquisition and acceptance of cleaner energy is beset with
potholes. Since wind does not always blow and sun does not shine all the time
in all parts of the globe, it is difficult to match electricity output with demand all the
time. While many developed countries, including India are fast moving toward solar
and wind energy, but their intermittent supply makes efficiency and storage of energy
equally important. Scientists are now working to develop batteries that can store huge
amount of electricity and make it available to grid operators when required. Efforts
are ongoing to have smaller power stations well distributed over large area rather
than a large power station with grid connectivity spread all over. This makes lot of
sense for renewables as one can generate and store electricity cheaply and reliably if
these smaller units are combined with better quality light-weight batteries with vast
storage capacity. In short, the renewable energy sector is aspiring for the following:
• Maximize conversion of solar and wind energy to electrical energy per unit time
and area.
• Develop batteries that are small, compact, and lightweight with very high storage
capacity.
• Minimize per unit cost of electricity so generated to less than that generated from
non-renewable sources.
Researchers in many countries are currently looking for solar cells that can absorb
maximum photons per unit area and store maximum energy in small and light-weight
batteries to ensure sustained supply of energy during lean period. Solar cells are made
of semiconductors such as silicon and perovskites.
24 Traditional solar cells based on
silicon semiconductors are not very effective in converting photons to electricity.
The reason is that silicon semiconductors absorb energy from the photons of shorter
24 Perovskite is a calcium titanium oxide mineral composed of calcium titanate (CaTiO 3 ). Perovskite
solar cells convert ultraviolet and visible light into electricity very efficiently.