The Energy and Resources Institute

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The Energy and Resources Institute - TERI
TERI Headquarters at the India Habitat Centre (IHC), Lodhi Road, New Delhi
TypeNon Profit Research Institution
Established1974
Location, ,
AcronymTERI
Websitewww.teriin.org

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) is a research institute based in New Delhi that conducts research work in the fields of energy, environment and sustainable development. It was established in 1974. It was formerly known as Tata Energy and Resource Institute.[1] As the scope of its activities widened, it was renamed The Energy and Resources Institute in 2003.[2]

The institute in 2013 was ranked as the topmost global think-tank in the field of climate sciences and research by the International Center for Climate Governance (ICCG)[3]

History

Bombay House the head office of Tata Group from where TERI started operations

The origins of TERI lie in Mithapur, a remote town in Gujarat, where a TATA engineer, Darbari Seth, was concerned about the enormous quantities of energy his factory spent on desalination.[4] He proposed the idea of a research institute to tackle the depletion of natural resources and energy scarcity. J. R. D. Tata, chairman of the TATA Group, liked the idea and accepted the proposal. TERI was set up with a modest corpus of 35 million rupees.[5] On the invitation of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, TERI was registered in Delhi in 1974 as the Tata Energy Research Institute.[6]

Locations

TERI initially began its operations in the Bombay House, Mumbai, headquarters of Tata. In 1984, it moved to Delhi where it continued to operate out on the rented premises (which included the India International Centre ) for almost a decade. In 1993, the organization set up its permanent base in Darbari Seth Block, named after its founder, in the India Habitat Centre complex located at Lodhi Road, New Delhi. Today TERI has a global presence with many centres in India and abroad.[7]

In October 2011, Princess Máxima of the Netherlands opened the European headquarters of TERI in Utrecht.[9]

TERI has also established a research base in Africa to provide technical assistance as well as to facilitate exchange of knowledge amongst the communities in various African states.[10]

Staff

Dr. Ajay Mathur
Dr. Ajay Mathur, Director General, TERI

TERI had over 1200 employees, with research professionals from disciplines pertaining to issues of environment and energy.[11] The Institute's present Director General is Ajay Mathur. He assumed office on 23 July 2015. Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, the previous Director General was accused of sexual harassment by a junior female colleague. This case is under investigation.[12] He was also chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.[13]

Activities

The scope of the organisation's activities includes climate change, energy efficiency, renewable energy, biotechnology, and social transformation.

  • Delhi Sustainable Development Summit - An annual summit which facilitates the exchange of knowledge on diverse aspects of global sustainable development.
  • LaBL (Lighting a Billion Lives) - An initiative to provide clean lighting access to bottom of the pyramid communities.
  • Green Olympiad - Conducted in association with MoEF, it is an international environment examination that is annually organized for middle and high-school students.

Awards

  • TERI ranked 20 in the list of top global think tanks according to a survey conducted by Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) of University of Pennsylvania, Brookings Institution[14]
  • TERI was awarded EDF Pulse Award in Paris by the Chairman of EDF Mr Henri Proglio on 30 April 2014, which recognizes ingenious efforts towards providing access to electricity.[15]
  • TERI's community radio service Kumaon Vani received an award from the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) at National Community Radio Sammelan held on 21 March 2014.[16]
  • TERI's film, The 'Flight' and 'Are we ready to dig in?' won awards at the CMS Vatavaran 2014 on 2 February 2014.[17]
  • TERI was awarded the Project Management Institute (PMI) Project of Year (2013) award in the NGO category for LaBL project.[18]

Publications

TERI Press, TERI's publishing arm releases a plethora of publications out of which some noteworthy publications are :

  • TerraGreen - Monthly magazine of TERI on issues of environment, biodiversity, livelihood rights, wildlife, energy, and sustainable development.
  • TERI Energy Data Directory and Yearbook (TEDDY) : Launched in 1986, it is a compilation of energy and environment data. It is a comprehensive reference document and a source of information on energy supply sectors (coal and lignite, oil and gas, power, and renewable energy sources) as well as energy-consuming sectors (agriculture, industry, transport, residential, and commercial sectors).[19]

GRIHA

Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) was conceived by TERI and developed with Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, is a national rating system for green buildings in India.[20]

TERI University

TERI University was established on 19 August 1998, and was recognised by the University Grants Commission (UGC) as a deemed-to-be University in 1999.[21] Set-up as the TERI School of Advanced Studies in 1998, the institution was subsequently renamed TERI University.[22]

TERI Prakriti School

Established in January 2015[23] with a vision to provide sustainability education and help create environmental awareness among children at an early age. Inaugurated by Union Minister for Environment and Forests Prakash Javadekar, the K-12 school is affiliated to CBSE.[24]

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.teriin.org/themes/teriday/teri-day-inner-new.php
  2. ^ "Teri Stays Teri, But Says Ta-Ta To Tata". Financialexpress.com. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  3. ^ "TERI tops global climate think-tank list". Zee News. 10 July 2013.
  4. ^ "Championing the green alternative". Economic Times. 2 January 2010.
  5. ^ "Darbari Seth Memorial Lecture 2006" (PDF). February 2013.
  6. ^ "ENVIS Centre on Renewable Energy and Environment" (PDF).
  7. ^ "Location and Linkages - TERI". 15 November 2014.
  8. ^ http://www.indiahabitat.org/institutions
  9. ^ "Asia - Research - Universiteit Utrecht". 5 October 2011.
  10. ^ "TERI Africa".
  11. ^ "Our People - TERI".
  12. ^ Mohan, Vishwa (23 July 2015). "Sexual-harassment case: Teri sacks RK Pachauri". The Times of India. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  13. ^ "The Nobel Peace Prize 2007".
  14. ^ "5 Indian thinktanks in world's top 150". Times of India. 28 January 2014.
  15. ^ "EDF PULSE AWARDS: SMILES ALL ROUND". EDF PULSE. 30 April 2014.
  16. ^ "National Community Radio Awards 2014 presented". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 13 March 2014.
  17. ^ "7th CMS VATAVARAN Environment and Wildlife Film Festival and Forum 2013". CMS Vatavaran. 2 February 2014.
  18. ^ "PMI's Prestigious Project Management Award 2013" (PDF). PMI awards. 27 September 2013.
  19. ^ "Global Think Tank TERI Launches its Annual Publication "TERI Energy Data Directory and Yearbook (TEDDY)"". 22 March 2013.
  20. ^ Business Standard (1 November 2007). "TERI launches rating system for 'green' buildings". Business-standard.com. Retrieved 2 February 2013. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  21. ^ "List of UGC Recognized University in NCT of Delhi" (PDF). delhi.gov.in.
  22. ^ "University status for TERI School". thehindubusinessline.com.
  23. ^ "TERI launches Prakriti School to focus on environment education". India Blooms.
  24. ^ "Government planning to introduce logo for green buildings: Prakash Javadekar". Economic Times.