Indian Railways – Riding on Technological Excellence

Indian Railways has been at the forefront of adopting the digital revolution ushered by technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence, and Big Data Analytics towards improving its efficiency and safety and the passengers’ overall experience.

Article 1: Spectrum (on diversified topics)

Topic 1: Ants

Ants are found everywhere. The study of ants is called Myrmecology.

Some interesting facts about ants:

They can carry a load of more than 8 times their body mass.
Communication: The ants communicate by releasing chemicals, warning ants of dangers or indicating potential food sources.
They are omnivores – feed on decaying plants and animals. They also consume fungi, honey and seeds, and pests like termites.
Social organization:
- Ants are eusocial insects – they show an advanced level of social organization. There are queen ants, worker ants and male ants with specific roles in the ants’ society.

Queen ant (s)	They are few and head the ant colonies. They lay thousands of eggs to produce offspring. During breeding, they develop wings which they chew off after breeding.
Worker ants	Worker ants are non-reproductive and wingless, which we usually observe. They cooperate in bringing up the young ones, foraging for food, working on the nest, protecting the community and performing many other duties.
Male ants	They often have only one role, i.e. mating with the queen, after which they die.

Significance of ants

Ants play a significant role in the ecosystem

Ants are useful in the Aeration of the soil by turning it.
The dried biomass of all the ants is huge (~20% of human biomass), thus forming an essential part of nutrient cycling.
Assessing the functionality of the ecosystems and environmental health
- The occurrence and activity of ants are essential drivers of ecosystems.
- Simple measures such as the ant incidence and species richness can be an effective alternative to more labour-intensive methods of assessing the functionality of the ecosystems.
Help in myrmecochory – a unique kind of seed dispersal.
- The ants dispose of the seeds after consuming the softer, more nutritious layer around the seed (elaiosomes) in a waste disposal area. This area is ideal for seed germination as it is rich in ant frass and dead bodies.
Studies on ants have helped in the study of biodiversity and conservation.

Apart from these, Studies on the ant colonies have also found their application in the field of computers, such as machine learning, complex interactive networks, parallel computing etc.

Topic 2: Quantum Key Distribution (QKD)

A cryptography technique allows two remote users to establish a secure ‘key’ to lock and unlock the communication using the principles of quantum mechanics.
Qubits can be a one or a zero at any given time, making cracking the code more complicated.
In satellite-based long-distance quantum communication, the ground station must always keep a line of sight with the moving satellite. However, in India, secure quantum key distribution between a stationary source and a mobile receiver has currently not been achieved.

ASTRONOMY

The Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope (GMRT), Pune, recently recorded a radio signal from atomic hydrogen in a distant galaxy.
Atomic hydrogen is the basic fuel required for star formation in a galaxy. When hot ionized gas from the surrounding medium of the galaxy falls onto the galaxy, the gas cools and forms atomic hydrogen, and eventually leads to the formation of stars. Thus, tracing the evolution of the neutral gases aids our understanding of the evolution of the galaxies.
The detection was made possible by the phenomenon called gravitational lensing, in which the source of light emitted by the source is bent due to the presence of another massive body, such as an early type elliptical galaxy between the target galaxy and the observer, effectively resulting in the “magnification” of the signal and thus their detection through sophisticated telescopes.

Article 2: TRAIN TICKET TO TOMORROW

History of Indian Railways

16^th April 1853: The Great Indian Peninsular Railway launched its first passenger train. It was a 14-carriage train carrying 400 people between Bombay and Thane, covering 34 km.
15^th August 1854: The first train ran between Howrah and Hooghly, 39 km away.
1^st July 1856: A train ran from Madras City to Wallajah Road, 90 km away.

Indian Railways Today:

4^th largest rail network in the world.
80% of the rail network is electrified.
It is one of the best examples of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Make for the World’.

Innovations in the Past

CONCERT	CONCERT stands for Country-wide Network of Computerized Enhanced Reservation and Ticketing. It was created by Computer Maintenance Corporation (CMC) for the Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS). It enabled rail counter reservations all over India.
Online reservation	Online reservations became a reality in 2002 through the IRCTC portal. The mobile app version was released in 2020.
Unreserved tickets	Automatic ticket vending machines at railway stations in 2021. QR Code-based ticketing was launched in Palakkad Division in October 2022.

Innovations Today

Technological innovation in the railways today has centred mainly on safety and efficiency.
The challenge was taken up by the Konkan Railway Division, already famous for carving out a 750 Km rail line along India’s hilly western coastline and also pioneering the concept of Roll on Roll off (RoRo) trucks riding on train flatbeds.

Kavach System

An anti-collision device, harnessing wireless communication and the Global Positioning System (GPS), enables trains to accurately assess each other’s course. In case of a collision course, it triggers an automatic brake, overriding the driver.
Since 2016, the Research, Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) of Indian Railways has refined the Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) using more contemporary technology like UHF radio and 4G/5G. In addition, it is working with private vendors to manufacture Kavach for fitting on more trains.

Modernising Signalling Systems

India has adopted an emerging standard – the European Train Control System (ETCS) – which compares the train’s speed with the speed authorized by the signalling system and calculates the brake point.
Major railway systems in France, Germany and China have adopted it.

Real-Time Train Tracking

A Real-Time Train Information System (RTIS) using GPS -based devices and a satellite communication hub has been created for the Railways by the ISRO.

Black Box for locomotive engines

Installation of six Internet Protocol (IP) based cameras, a network video recorder and a hard disk inside the black box for local recording.

Monitoring Rolling Stock

Two technology enhancements were undertaken by Railways in 2022 to help in preventive maintenance – Online Monitoring of Rolling Stock (OMRS) and Wheel Impact Load Detector (WILD).
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags are also being fitted on rolling stock.
Contactless Machine Vision Inspection Systems (MVIS) are also under development.

Monitoring rail conditions

Ultrasonic crack detection systems, acoustic sensing systems, and Automatic Train Examination Systems (ATES) are being developed to automate the process.

Coach enhancements and passenger comfort

Integral Coach Factory (ICF) and Modern Coach Factory (MCF) have produced a new generation of lighter, more comfortable passenger coaches.

Vande Bharat Trains

The indigenously designed and built Vande Bharat semi- high-speed Electrical Multiple Unit (EMU) trains have attained the highest acceleration of any train on an Indian rail network and are comparable to bullet trains.

With 16 passenger cars and an integrated driver cabin at each end, these trains offer bio-vacuum toilets, onboard WiFi, real-time passenger information, automatic doors, and the Kavach anti-collision system.
The first Vande Bharat train entered service in 2019.

Vistadome Coaches

The Railways, in 2018, introduced glass-roofed Vistadome coaches with rotatable chairs on the more scenic routes in the country.

Metro rail systems

The oldest – Delhi Metro inaugurated in December 2002 – has grown from an 8 km six-station network to one of the largest such systems in the world with 286 stations over a 390 km network.
Work has begun on India’s first Regional Rapid Rail Transit System (RRTS) connecting Delhi to Meerut.

Designing for the Future

Indian Railways has pragmatically invested in futuristic technologies that will help it retain its technological edge for a decade or more.

Bullet Train

India’s first Bullet Train connecting Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex with Ahmedabad and Sabarmati, being carried out by the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL) and being partnered technically and financially by Japan, is to be operational by 2027.

Hydrogen-Powered Trains

The Railways have decided to convert the historic narrow-gauge routes to hydrogen-powered trains fueled by eco–friendly green hydrogen, starting with the Kalka – Shimla mountain railway by the end of 2023.

The Coradia iLint, the world’s first passenger train designed by Alstom, runs on a hydrogen fuel cell that generates electrical energy for propulsion. World‘s first hydrogen-powered and zero-emission passenger train unveiled in Germany.

The first-of-its-kind eco-friendly train has been developed by the French rail company Alstom.
It is powered by a hydrogen fuel tank fitted on its roof. The fuel cell is supplied with hydrogen and oxygen from the air. The fuel cell converts hydrogen and oxygen into electric power.
Excess electricity is stored with onboard lithium batteries. The train is totally carbon-neutral and carbon-free, which makes it a much more sustainable alternative to conventional diesel trains.

Hyperloop transportation

Mechanism: A system of very fast-moving carriages or pods that levitate inside long tubes where the air pressure has been reduced to one-tenth of atmospheric pressure to reduce the drag.
The pods travel at 700 – 800 kmph, and the tubes can connect places from a few kilometres to a few hundred kilometres apart.
The project started by Elon Musk in 2014 was renamed Virgin Hyperloop after Virgin Airlines became an investor.
Since 2017, a team at IIT Madras has been independently working on an Indian variant called Avishkar Hyperloop. Another team at MIT World Peace University, Pune, is also working similarly.
As a mark of confidence in indigenous efforts, the Railways approved a ₹8.34 crore collaboration with IIT Madras in May 2022 to create a Hyperloop Transportation System.

Revival of Skybus

Skybus is internationally known as a Sky Train – a driverless passenger suspension railway system with cars suspended from an elevated track. Such systems have been running successfully in Germany.

Skybus has had a chequered history in India. In 2004, the Konkan Rail Corporation set up an experimental 1.6 km elevated track at Margao Railway station as a prelude to introducing the service in Goa. Unfortunately, this project was abandoned due to an unfortunate accident.
Transport Minister Shri Nitin Gadkari has announced that the first Skybus would be deployed as a mass transit system in Delhi and Haryana. He also advocated Skybus for Sangam City, Prayagraj and Bengaluru.

Technology in Railways

Article 3: Galileo’s ‘Perspicillum’ and James Webb Space Telescope

The introduction of Galileo’s telescope played a significant role in demolishing the two millennia-old dogma of the geocentric Universe proposed by the Aristotelian school of thought. NASA’s recently launched James Webb Space Telescope may play a similar function, which has been placed at Lagrangian point 2(L2), 1.5 million kilometres from the Earth.

The Big Bang Theory

Arguments suggesting an expanding universe:

The General Theory of Relativity (GTR) was developed by Einstein in the years 1907 to 1915, in which he proposed a matter-filled infinite static universe based upon GTR in 1917. He added an ad-hoc repulsive term known as the cosmological constant, which also suggested an expanding universe.
In 1922, the Russian mathematician Alexander Friedman developed the model of a matter-filled universe that expands with time.

Expanding Universe hypothesis

The Discovery of the cosmological red-shift of the distant galaxies by astronomer Edwin Hubble in 1929 gave momentum to the concept of an expanding universe.
Edwin Hubble studied the Cepheid variable stars in Andromeda to study their luminosity. Cepheid are pulsating stars that have a constant range of luminosity, which can be used as a standard to measure the luminosity of other celestial objects. Now with the help of the luminosity, he could calculate the distance of each Cepheid from Earth.
In 1929, Hubble started studying distant objects and found that these objects were not emitting their true colour and instead were slightly red-shifted.

What is Red Shift?

When a celestial object moves away from us, its wavelength increases and which makes the object appear redder. The wavelength of such objects can even expand so much that the object might be visible only through infrared waves or microwave
The more the object is receding fast, the more the red shift.

What did Edwin Hubble find?

He found that the farther away an object is, the more red-shifted it is. It means that the farther the object, the faster it is receding away from us.
Almost everything in the Universe is moving away. Thus, the earlier assumption of Alexander Freidman of expanding the Universe was confirmed. Thus, Einstein’s equation which also predicted an expanding universe, was confirmed.
The Big Bang Theory (BBT): if everything is moving away from us, then, at one point in time, the Universe must have been much smaller, and possibly, it must have an origin point from where it started expanding. With the help of the rates of expansion of the Universe, its origin has been theorized to have happened around 13.8bn years ago. From this point, a giant explosion took place, after which the expansion is still continuing.

The Cosmic Background radiation:

According to the Big Bang Theory (BBT), the Universe is predicted to be filled with radiation and a 5 K ‘cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) was discovered in 1965.
What is microwave background: We find static microwave radiation from every direction in the Universe. This is known as the microwave background radiation.
Source of Microwave background: The light emitted at the time when the Universe was in infancy has now been red-shifted so much that it is now microwave radiation. Thus, this is the first light that was ever emitted into the Universe that we see as the microwave background.
The microwave background was considered a piece of major evidence in favour of the Big Bang theory.

Challenges to Big Bang Theory

Tired Light Theory and Model of a Quasi–State Infinite Universe

The theory of an expanding finite universe did not find favour with many scientists.
Swiss astronomer Zwicky suggested that the observed cosmological red-shift of the galactic spectra might not be due to the Doppler effect but due to the loss of energy by photons from distant galaxies during their journey through intergalactic space. He termed this phenomenon ‘tired light’. Since the wavelength of light is inversely proportional to its energy, such a loss of energy would cause the wavelength of photons to increase, resulting in the observed cosmological red shift.
However, the only possible way photons can lose energy is through interaction with intergalactic matter, which should result in scattering. But scattering would cause the images to blur. Since no such blurring of distant galaxies is observed, a ‘tired light’ effect due to scattering is ruled out.

James Webb Space Telescope and the Future of the Big Bang Theory

This ultramodern space telescope orbiting the Lagrangian point 2 and controlled from the Earth, is 100 times more powerful than the Hubble space telescope and can see objects at distances dozens of billion light years away.

What is the James Webb Telescope trying to discover?

James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is the biggest infrared telescope ever built. It is situated at the Lagrangian point 2(L2), where there is little interference from the ionized particles from the Sun.

JWST is 100 times more potent than Hubble and three times larger. It is launched by NASA with the following objectives in mind:

Studying the first galaxies: The JWST can look back to the first galaxies born in the early Universe more than 13.5 billion years ago.
It can observe the sources of stars, exoplanets, and even the moons and planets of our solar system.
The Study of Dark Matter: Approximately 90% of the Universe is supposed to be composed of dark matter and dark energy, which are supposed to be one of the reasons for the expansion of the Universe. JWST might get lucky in understanding these.
Understanding the Curvature of the Universe: According to the BBT, the Universe is finite and must possess a curvature just like the globe’s surface. But no trace of any curvature has been observed till today.

JWST has made a few new discoveries:

The distance of the farthest galaxy, CEERS–93316, is estimated at a staggering value of almost 35 billion light years. These observations of well-formed spiral galaxies of standard size at such extreme distances have already started putting questions on the standard Big Bang model because, according to this theory, the early galaxies should be small and have no well-formed spiral structure.
JWST observations have forced scientists to have a serious relook at the Big Bang Theory in its present form.

Article 4: DNA – Promise of Digital Information Storage

DNA – Nature’s Oldest Storage Device

DNA is a nucleic acid molecule found in every cell of each organism. It is made up of a chain of molecules called nucleotides. The nucleotides are of two types: the purines – adenine (A) and guanine (G), and the pyrimidines – thymine (T) and cytosine (C).

Discovered in 1953 by Watson and Crick, it is described as a double–stranded helix, having two chains of polynucleotides and running in opposite directions in a helical manner.
The double strands stay joined by base pairing between a particular purine with a particular pyrimidine (A-T and G-C).
Many DNA sequences exist in conserved form, i.e., they are kept the same by natural selection for generations within a population. This is why animals from one species differ from another but resemble others of their kind.

The idea that digital information can be stored in DNA has existed since 1959 and was first proposed in 1965. However, in 1985, information was stored in DNA for the first time under the Microvenus Project by Joe Davis.

Reasons for using DNA to store digital information

Unlike electronic memory, nucleic acid memory is durable, denser, and can retain information for a very long time. For example, the half-life of ancient DNA at room temperature is more than 100 years.
DNA exceeds the magnetic tape limit, which can store 15 terabytes (TB) of data in one modern cartridge. It can theoretically store 1 million TB per gram of its weight.
Currently, massive data storage centres are being constructed over acres of land for storing the data that is in use and archived; much of the information can be stored in DNA easily in a refrigerator (-20 degree Celsius to -80 degree Celsius).

Digital to DNA

Digital information exists in the form of a binary code sequence. The binary code, consisting of a string of the digits 0 and 1, is the basis for the functioning of computers and all their operations, including receiving and processing input information and providing the appropriate output. DNA does the same for all living cells.
By permutation and combination, a maximum of four pairs can be formed – 00, 01, 10 and 11. These, in turn, can be written as DNA by replacing these pairs with A, C, G, and T, respectively. A DNA sequence is written in this manner for the entire binary sequence. Therefore, a binary sequence 100101 becomes GCC. This process is known as encoding.
Following encoding, the DNA sequence is synthetically synthesized in short fragments called oligonucleotides that are approximately 200 bases long. The DNA molecules so formed need to be preserved until the said information is required to be accessed by the user.

In this manner, DNA can be used to store any information that exists in a digital format.

Accessing the File

Random access requires each file to have a specific unique pathway or address. The address for DNA files is an ‘identifier’ – a known sequence of nucleotides that is unique for each file and can provide any location within the DNA pool.
To access the file, we only need to synthesize a complementary sequence to the identifier, with which we can fish out our file using either of the molecular techniques – magnetic-bead extraction or Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR).
To know the sequence of nucleotides in the file, some next-generation sequencing techniques like Illumina bridge amplification, Oxford nanopore sequencing technology, and Pacific Biosciences Single Molecule Real Time (SMRT) Sequencing technology are used.

The Challenges

Synthesis of DNA molecules – Today’s technologies can only produce short DNA strands (oligonucleotides). Scaling of the process for holding big data will require the production of either longer DNA strands or the parallel mass production of many strands.
Cost concerns – Producing the strands and sequencing them to retrieve information are the two most costly parts of the entire process.
Time-consuming – DNA data storage is time-consuming because it is majorly a manual process. Many molecular operations are automated, but switching from one operation to the next requires a human presence.

Therefore, the global scaling of DNA data storage needs major advances in automating the entire process, from encoding binary to a nucleotide sequence to synthesizing the molecules and storing them, accessing them whenever end users request, and providing data output by decoding them into binary code.

DNA – Data Storage Alliance – Making It Possible

Out of all the enterprise data produced worldwide, 75% is ‘cold’, ‘Just In Case (JIC) ‘, or ‘Write Once Never Read’ (WORN) Today archival data storage uses up a lot of space, machinery, energy, and money, all of which can be brought down considerably, possibly by one to two magnitudes, using DNA.
The DNA Data Storage Alliance was founded by world leaders in biotechnology and computer sciences – Illumina, Microsoft, Twist Bioscience, and Western Digital. Their mission is to create and promote an interoperable storage ecosystem based on DNA as a data storage medium.
The Alliance comprises 50 members and is a diverse group comprising 11 public companies, 14 private companies, 2 consultancies, 2 venture capital firms, 17 universities, 5 research non-profits, and 1 foundation.

Advances from Microsoft – Automation and Purple Drop platform

Scientists from Microsoft and the University of Washington (USW) have succeeded in developing a completely automated DNA data storage device prototype. In 2022, They published research articles on the preservation of DNA molecules in order to store them more efficiently and to protect DNA from breakage, which renders the information in it unreadable.
Another notable development in the area of automation is” PurpleDrop“. It is capable of onboard molecular operations like magnetic-bead extraction for random access and polymerase chain reaction.

Article 5: Killer Kitchens (Deleterious Impacts of Biomass Fuels)

Women and children disproportionally bear the greatest health burden from toxic fumes from open-fire traditional cooking stoves fueled by solid fuels (including coal and biomass fuels, such as firewood, charcoal, dung, agricultural residue and sometimes leaves and grass).

The International Energy Agency predicts that globally as many as 2.7 billion people will be relying on traditional biomass–based fuels (fuelwood, crop residues, and animal dung) by 2030.

Cooking is commonly done in poorly ventilated rooms in rural and suburban areas. Cooking stoves generate a significant amount of indoor pollution.

Smoke from biomass consumption produces a large number of health-damaging air pollutants, including particulate matter, carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen monoxides, formaldehyde, benzene, 1,3 butadiene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (such as benzo[a]pyrine), and many other toxin organic compounds.
The fuels are typically burned in simple, inefficient, and mostly unvented household cookstoves, which, combined with poor ventilation, generates large volumes of smoke indoors, resulting in much higher exposure to air pollutants than from outdoor sources.
The pollutants cause ailments ranging from chronic obstructive lung diseases and lung cancer to cataracts, strokes and ischemic heart disease.
The unsafe levels of Particulate matter (5) cause around 4 million early deaths each year globally; about 25 per cent of these deaths occur in India alone.
The 2010 Global Burden of Diseases Report (GBDR) established that indoor air pollution from cooking stoves is the primary cause of disease and death in South Asia.

Reasons for the vulnerability of children

Immaturity of their respiratory defence mechanism and geometry of their airways.
Children are physically more active than adults, increasing their vulnerability to air pollution.
Higher respiration rates in Children: They have significantly higher oxygen demands, so they inhale more air per unit of body weight than adults. In addition, their smaller statue results in a lower breathing zone, so they inhale heavier air loaded with more particles.
Higher risk from smaller particulate matter: The diameters of their airways are smaller and more likely to be affected by inflammation produced by air pollution.

Analysis of NFHS-3 data firmly established that around 6.5 per cent of stunting cases in Indian children below three years old is associated with burns of solid fuels.

Health effects among women

Respiratory diseases and cor pulmonale
Adverse pregnancy outcomes (stillbirths, neonatal deaths and low birth weight)
Cancer and
Eye problems

Factors for not using LPG are –

Affordability of other cooking fuels
No distributors in the region
Logistically difficult terrain for LPG procurement
Process of getting an LPG connection
The unwillingness of the community to shift to LPG

Kerosene as an alternative

Kerosene cooking is widespread in many developing countries: countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Often advocated as a cleaner alternative, some studies show its harmful effects.

Considering the widespread use of subsidized kerosene in the developing world, kerosene may be adopted as a household fuel to eliminate the double burdens faced by poor Indian women.

Government Plan to Replace Solid-fuel Chulhas:

In 2009, the government launched the National Biomass Cookstoves Initiative (NBCT), which has approved 17 cookstove models for domestic use. But their efficacy in reducing indoor air pollution is yet to be assessed.
While nearly half of India’s households use solid fuels as cooking fuel, India planned to ensure 80 million households get LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) connection by 2020 under the flagship scheme entitled Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUJ). Under this scheme, families below the poverty line (BPL) can get a free LPG connection.

Article 6: Lithium – White Gold of Energy Storage

The objective of achieving zero–emission to arrest global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial era, spelt out in COP–27 at Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, can be met by considerably reducing the greenhouse gas emission, particularly through the replacement of carbon-intensive fossil fuels that now meet around 70% of our energy needs, by various green sources of which lithium–ion battery is considered as a most promising one.

In 2022, Electric Vehicles (EVs) powered by lithium-ion batteries accounted for 14% of global passenger vehicle sales, expected to reach 25-36% by 2030.
The Indian government has an ambitious plan of 30% EV penetration of public cars, 70% commercial vehicles, and 80% for two and three-wheelers by 2030 for the automobile industry.

Location of Lithium Resources

According to the US Geological Survey, at present, the inferred resources of lithium globally stand at about 98 million tonnes. The countries with the major deposits are Bolivia, Argentina, the US, Chile and Germany.
In 2023, the Geological Survey of India announced the discovery of 5.9 million tonnes of inferred resource of lithium, worth estimated to be about $3 trillion, in the Salal–Haimana area of Reasi district in Jammu & Kashmir.
In 2021, India’s Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research found a deposit of 14,100 tonnes of the metal in the Marlagalla area of Mandya district in Karnataka.
Any lithium mineral with more than 300 ppm quality is considered good. The mineral deposit in J&K has more than 800 ppm lithium, which is high enough for enrichment and extraction.

Properties of Lithium

This soft silvery-white alkali metal with atomic number 3 is the lightest among the metals and is highly reactive and inflammable.
It never occurs in a free state but in the form of ionic compounds like pegmatitic minerals and is also present in seawater as ions. The metal is isolated from a mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride.
It exists as two stable isotopes with atomic masses 6 and 7. It is less common in the solar system, even though its nucleus is very light.

Uses of Lithium

Nuclear Power: The demand for metal increased during the Cold War with the production of nuclear fusion It was useful in producing both the isotopes of tritium when irradiated by neutrons and a form of solid fusion fuel used inside hydrogen bombs.
Industrial applications:
- Producing heat-resistant glass and ceramics,
- Producing alloys with aluminium and copper,
- Lithium grease lubricants,
- Flux additives in iron, steel and aluminium industries, and
- Lithium-ion batteries.

Lithium-ion batteries

Lithium–ion batteries have revolutionized electronic communications, computing, digitization and now powering the world to move towards clean energy.

Advantages of lithium-ion batteries

Lithium–ion batteries are lightweight and have higher energy density.
Their energy density can be further enhanced by developing high-energy-density electrode materials. This allows for storing 95% to 99% of energy generated from renewable sources.
These batteries enable electric vehicles to operate with high autonomy.

Parts of a Lithium-ion battery

The most commercially used negative electrode (Anode) ) of lithium-ion batteries is graphite, which is fully lithiated, and the positive electrode (Cathode) is generally a layered oxide (such as lithium oxide) or a polyanion (such as lithium–iron–phosphate) or a spinel (such as lithium manganese oxide), whereas the electrolyte is a lithium salt in an organic solvent.

Challenges in mining Lithium

Extracting lithium from hard rock mining is the first hurdle – open pit mining followed by roasting the ore using fossil fuels. This process consumes 170 cubic metres of water and releases 15 tonnes of carbon dioxide for every tonne of lithium produced.
Extraction through surface mining or brine evaporation would need a hundred acres of land. It could lead to the complete removal of native vegetation from the area, affecting ecology, environment, and biodiversity.
The other roadblock is the area’s seismic

Way Ahead

The “lithium triangle“ consisting of Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina have strong regulating apparatus that can address both the environmental and social consequences of lithium mining. Therefore, India may need technology transfer from these countries to mine its new lithium reserves safely and profitably.