Only a few thousand chargers dot the Indian landscape, some in working condition, others not, with some held hostage to the power supply vagaries of local utilities, reports S Dinakar.
India's jugalbandhi with coal and clean energy is coming unstuck, neither achieving adequate renewable generation nor ensuring sufficient coal-fired power in the quest to become a $5-trillion economy. Six months have elapsed since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ambitious climate agenda for India at COP26 at Glasgow. The net zero emissions target by 2070 is a distant one, but there are nearer-term plans to meet 50 per cent of energy demand with renewables by 2030 by increasing capacity to 450 Gw. A cursory look at the balance sheet of India's climate progress since November reveals ponderous progress towards meeting the renewables target even as the country is scrambling to expand coal-fired generation in the face of a power crisis.
Ravi Shankar Prasad in Patna Sahib, Ram Kripal Yadav in Pataliputra, R K Singh in Arrah and Ashwani Choubey in Buxar are all having a tough time.
After witnessing cloudy skies this year, the country's renewable energy sector is expected to boom with a likely investment of over $15 billion in 2022 as the government focuses on electric vehicles, green hydrogen, manufacturing of solar equipment as well as achieving the ambitious 175 GW renewable capacity target. India, which has an installed renewable energy generation capacity of a little over 150 GW, aims to reach 175 GW in 2022. Out of the total mix, 100 GW would be from solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from bio-power and 5 GW from small hydro power projects.
A greater payment security mechanism for power generation companies to ensure timely payouts for supply of electricity will be in focus in 2022 as stricter rules are on the anvil for 24x7 power supply amid discoms' outstanding dues at a whopping Rs 1.56 lakh crore. Mounting outstanding dues of distribution companies (discoms) to electricity generation companies (gencos) have been a perennial issue affecting the entire value chain in the power sector and are also a hindrance for the ambitious goal of 24x7 power supply across the country even when the payment for coal is made in advance. The situation persists despite the fact that discoms' dues become overdue after 45 days of generating bills and they also have to pay penal interest on the overdue amount in most of the cases to gencos.
The new Council of Ministers comprises of 25 Cabinet ministers, nine Ministers of State (Independent Charge) and 24 Ministers of State (MoSes).
This is the first reshuffle in the Council of Ministers by Prime Minister Modi since he assumed charge for a second term in May 2019.
The focus is not only on governance but also to ensure that the BJP's political considerations are taken care of.
The statement comes in the wake of reports that warned of power crisis looming large due to the coal shortage in the country.
India's power consumption grew 11.45 per cent to 55.37 billion units (BU) in the first half of October this year, mainly driven by buoyancy in industrial and commercial activities, as per government data.
The Centre has asked all states to set up special search committees to find out talented people who could be nominated for Padma awards but so far have been left out of consideration despite their exceptional contributions.
Thackeray held a meeting on the issue and instructed authorities concerned to ensure there is no recurrence of the episode, an official statement said.
The new Ministers of State sworn in by President Ram Nath Kovind at a ceremony in the Rashtrapati Bhavan include Virendra Kumar, Anant Kumar Hegde and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, former IAS officers Alphons Kannanthanam and R K Singh, former diplomat Hardeep Puri and ex-Mumbai police chief Satyapal Singh. Two other new faces are Ashwini Kumar Choubey, a member of the Lok Sabha from Bihar, and Shiv Pratap Shukla from Uttar Pradesh.
Energy's exit is a cautionary tale for several foreign investors in India as close to 16 Gw of solar and wind power projects languish without any power purchase agreement, 24 Gw without transmission connectivity and around 2 Gw unilaterally cancelled by project developers.
36 Union ministers will visit different districts in both the divisions of the Union Territory starting from January 18 to January 24 and the home ministry is coordinating it, the sources said.
Pakistan on Wednesday rejected India's contention that Pakistani militants were behind a terrorist attack in Srinagar that killed five paramilitary personnel, saying such "knee-jerk reactions" could undermine efforts to normalise bilateral relations.
As the Centre pushes reforms in the power sector, especially for the beleaguered electricity distribution segment, several states, especially those ruled by Opposition parties, are clamouring against it. Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerela have voiced their reservations against the proposed amendments to the Electricity Act, 2003. The irony is the states opposing the amendments on the ground of threat of privatisation already have private partnerships in power supply. The proposed Bill was slated to be placed on the floor of Parliament in the Monsoon session. But it still awaits Cabinet approval amid several states complaining that they have been not consulted on the issue.
The home ministry has asked the defence ministry to take action against IAF men who had abandoned an injured policeman and an armed helicopter in Chhattisgarh, saying the incident was extremely disturbing.
A petition filed by Vishwa Hindu Parishad against Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde's "Hindu terror" remarks was dismissed by the Allahabad high court on Tuesday.
The mega solar power project is comprised of three solar generating units of 250 MW each located on a 500-hectare plot of land situated inside a solar park.
Shatrughan Sinha and Kirti Azad certain to be axed along with Union minister R K Singh and former minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
Singh said the National Investigation Agency, which recently took over the case, will investigate the case, amid conflicting versions by Delhi Police and Jammu and Kashmir Police on his arrest from near the Indo-Nepal border.
Union Home Secretary R K Singh and Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar will face tough questions on Thursday from the members of the Standing Committee on Union Ministry of Home Affairs headed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader M Venkaiah Naidu.
Sheela Bhatt blames the Delhi gang-rape and its aftermath on the dreadful transport mafia, the offspring of the nexus between politicians, crooked bureaucrats and shady operators.
India will share evidence with Pakistan on morphed images and inflammatory videos uploaded in that country that triggered exodus of Northeast origin people from Bangalore, Pune, Chennai and Mumbai.
United Liberation Front of Assam 'general secretary' Anup Chetia, currently in a jail in Bangladesh, will soon be handed over to India, the group's 'chairman' Arabinda Rajkhowa claimed on Thursday.
President Pranab Mukherjee had rejected the mercy petition of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru on February 3, leading to his hanging on Saturday, Union Home Secretary R K Singh has said. "The President rejected Afzal Guru's mercy petition on February 3. After that, we followed the jail manual and his hanging took place today," he told reporters.
The family of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru has been informed about his hanging by the Tihar authorities through Speed Post and the Jammu and Kashmir government was taken into confidence before his execution, the Centre said on Saturday. "They (Tihar jail authorities) intimated the family through Speed Post, registered post and the Director General of Jammu and Kashmir pPolice has been told to check with the family whether they got it or not," Home Secy R K said.
The Home Ministry on Tuesday cleared the Pakistan cricket team's tour of India for a limited-over series, beginning December 25, and said the government will provide foolproof security to the visiting team. This was conveyed when a delegation of the Board of Control for Cricket in India met Union Home secretary R K Singh in Delhi on Tuesday, official sources said.
Asked about the committee coming down heavily on Union Home Secretary R K Singh for praising Delhi Police Commissioner after the December 16 incident instead of coming out with an apology, Dikshit said she was happy that the very eminent committee made observations similar to hers.
Progress on an extradition treaty, repatriation of United Liberation Front of Assam leader Anup Chetia and border related issues figured in talks between the home secretaries of India and Bangladesh in Dhaka on Tuesday.
In the wake of shocking Delhi gang-rape incident, a Parliamentary Committee is mulling recommending a slew of corrective measures, including mandatory filing of First Information Reports in cases of sexual assault and fast tracking of such cases.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday approved a five-year-long reform-based result-linked power distribution scheme worth Rs 3.03 lakh crore, for strengthening system of utilities to improve efficiency. Briefing after the CCEA meet here, Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh said, "We have done a lot for power distribution reforms. It needs to be strengthened. Today, the Cabinet has approved the new scheme worth Rs 3.03 lakh crore, including Rs 97,000 crore central outlay." He said the funds would be given to power distribution companies (discoms) to strengthen their system.
A parliamentary panel on Thursday questioned the Delhi police chief over the gang-rape incident in the capital and pointed out deficiencies like vacancies at officer level and lack of vehicles to patrol the streets.
Home Secretary R K Singh has expressed his regret to Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde for the gaffe of disclosing the names of the victims of the Bhandara rape incident in Rajya Sabha over which the minister faced huge embarrassment.
The National Investigation Agency will probe the Maoist attack on Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh after the Centre received a go-ahead from Chief Minister Raman Singh for the same. "I have spoken to Raman Singh and he has agreed for probe by NIA and he has agreed to the probe by the central agency," Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said on Monday.
A controversy erupted on Sunday over the purported communication from the Centre to the family of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru about the decision to hang him on Saturday with the family alleging they had come to know about his hanging from TV channels and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah joining the criticism.
Certification of Election of Pranab Mukherjee as President of India has been handed over to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday.
The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha Thursday asked the government to consider its demand for a Gorkhaland state if it takes into consideration creation of a separate Telangana.
At least 10 people, who were allegedly involved in a spate of terror attacks in different parts of the country, had links with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or its affiliated organisations, Union Home Secretary R K Singh said on Tuesday.
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