Being much more environment friendly that competing metals, aluminum can play a significant role in creating sustainable smart cities. Discuss (200 Words)
Refer - Business Line
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 3 years
KEY POINTS
· The country’s urban growth centres are on a path of rejuvenation, with the government of India taking up an initiative to promote 100 sustainable and inclusive cities in a time-bound manner.
· A look at the aluminium consumption figures for India shows the power sector to be the biggest consumer of aluminium at 48 per cent, followed by transport and automobiles at 15 per cent, building and construction at 13 per cent, and consumer durables having 7 per cent aluminium consumption.
· These consumption figures are bound to grow as the downstream aluminium sector helps write the smart city story with its vast offerings in the form of extrusion products, bars, rods, and other profiles.
· Aluminium offers half the carbon footprint of competing metals and thus more significant environmental sustainability benefits.
· Providing sustainable mobility solutions is an essential part of the smart cities initiative, where globally, transportation accounts for 26 per cent of the aluminium consumption. Its physical properties are noteworthy.
· This broad-spectrum demand for aluminium would soon have India catching up with its developed peers. As projects under the 100 smart city initiative grow further to include newer cities, the wonder metal is on its journey to increase its per capita consumption in India from 2.5 kg and take it closer to the global average levels of 11 kg and beyond.
