istance Learning Programmes.

Besides the above indicative list, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has set up four specialized centres on solar energy, wind energy, bio-energy and hydro-energy as follows : · The Solar Energy Centre (SEC), established in 1982, is a dedicated unit of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India for development of solar energy technologies and to promote its applications through product development (www.mnre.gov.in/sec). · A Centre for Wind Energy Technology (C-WET), an autonomous organization under the administrative control of the Ministry, has been established in Chennai, Tamil Nadu and serves as the technical focal point for wind power development (www.cwet.tn.nic.in). · The Sardar Swaran Singh National Institute of Renewable Energy (SSS-NIRE) is being established as an autonomous institution in district Kapurthala, Punjab. NIRE will serve as the technical focal point for development of bio-energy, including bio-fuels, and synthetic fuels. · Alternate Hydro Energy Centre (AHEC) is established in the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee with initial sponsorship of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in the year 1982. The mandate of the center is to promote power generation through the development of small hydropower projects in hilly as well as plain areas and development of decentralized integrated energy systems in conjunction with other renewable energy sources e.g. biomass, solar, wind etc.(www.ahec.org.in). Additionally, the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) has been established as a non-banking financial institution under the administrative control of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy for providing term loans for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects (www.ireda.in). The Bureau of Energy Efficiency, within the framework of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 conducts the Energy Managers and Energy Auditors examinations for public and private sector industries and organizations regularly. In terms of the Energy Conservation Building Code, 2007, several rating systems like GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) developed by The Energy and Resources Institute (www.teriin.org) and LEED India NC developed by the Indian Green Building Council (www.greenbusinesscentre.org) are being advocated. Some other organizations offer short-time courses of various levels. Some of these organizations are : a) National Productivity Council, New Delhi (www.npcindia.org). b) National Petroleum Research Association, New Delhi (www.pcra.org). c) Renewable Energy Centre Mithradham, Chunangamveli, Aluva (www.mithradham.org). d) State nodal agencies of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy like NEDA, MEDA, GEDA, etc. With a strong industrial base and successful demonstration of technologies in solar thermal, solar photovoltaics, wind, biomass and biogas, small-hydro and various energy conservation techniques, there are numerous career opportunities in the area of renewable energy and energy conservation and management. Since the problems of environment, pollution and global warming are in forefront today, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects are gaining momentum all over the world with increased career opportunities in renewable energy and energy management. The Author is Coordinator, M.SC Renewable Energy Programme, Department of Physics, University of Lucknow