After the recent inauguration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya in January, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a scheme through which solar panels will be installed on the rooftops of 1 crore households. This will enable the households to obtain up to 300 units of free electricity every month, she said. A benefit expected out of this step includes savings of Rs 15,000-18,000 annually for households; they can also sell the surplus electricity to distribution companies.
The government will also help improve the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles as it intends to provide entrepreneurship opportunities for vendors for supply and installation of such projects. It will also give employment opportunities for youth “with technical skills in manufacturing, installation and maintenance”.
Gautam Mohanka, CEO of Gautam Solar, pointed out that in India, the adoption of rooftop solar has been lagging behind utility scale solar and a major cause for that is the initial costs for the solar system.“Hence, the government’s initiative to provide 300 units of free electricity through rooftop solar to 1 crore households is vital for the country to meet its non-fossil fuel energy targets. It will also spur domestic manufacturing of solar modules and help the country in becoming self-reliant when it comes to solar energy,” he said.The government has set up a target of achieving renewable energy capacity of 500 gigawatts by 2030. It has also committed to become net-zero by 2070. Government data stated that India’s solar power capacity saw a surge from 10 megawatts in 2010 to 70.10 gigawatts by 2023.Focusing on another part of renewable energy, Sitharaman announced that gap funding will be provided in order to harness offshore wind energy potential for initial capacity of one giga-watt.In other measures, the finance minister said that to promote green growth, a new scheme of bio-manufacturing and bio-foundry will be launched. “This will provide environment friendly alternatives such as biodegradable polymers, bio-plastics, bio-pharmaceuticals and bio-agri-inputs. This scheme will also help in transforming today’s consumptive manufacturing paradigm to the one based on regenerative principles,” she said.
Gurashish Singh Sahni — Co-Founder & COO — ReCircle said that These structural reforms will define how India paves its way towards a circular future.
The plastic industry plays a massive role contributing to the GDP of India, helping India grow to a 5 trillion USD economy. Saini mentiones that policies like Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and sustainability commitments have added to the tail wind in the sector.
“We are optimistic that we will see measurable targets for the plastic sector in the months to come and see plastic’s transition towards a circular economy. The present need is for tax reforms and lower GST rates for recycled plastic products. Higher taxes on the plastic industry will create inflationary pressure on the economy. Furthermore, we need subsidies on machinery as it will help MSMEs that wish to upgrade their technology. We need to continue harnessing the power of technology to deliver innovative services within the plastics industry for the benefit of our connected communities and economy,” he said.
He added that for long-lasting growth of the industry we need infrastructure support, digitisation in the plastics manufacturing industry and businesses to comply with the governments’ existing EPR mandates as per Plastic Waste Compliance Rules 2016.
Sitharaman further announced that coal gasification and liquefaction capacity of 100 MT will be set up by 2030. This is aimed to help reduce imports of natural gas, methanol and ammonia. ”Phased mandatory blending of compressed biogas (CBG) in compressed natural gas (CNG) for transport and piped natural gas (PNG) for domestic purposes will be mandated. Financial assistance will be provided for procurement of biomass aggregation machinery to support collection,” she said.
The FM also spoke about the blue economy and said that a scheme for restoration and adaptation measures, and coastal aquaculture and mariculture will be launched to promote climate resilient activities.
Talking about electric mobility, the government will support manufacturing and charging infrastructure of electric vehicles and will push greater adoption of e-buses for public transport networks through payment security mechanisms, she said while presenting the budget.
Rohit Tikku, CEO of Bluebird, said the targets outlined in the interim budget for rooftop solar programme and EV charging infrastructure are feasible but require sustained government commitment, investment, and collaboration with stakeholders. “Skill development initiatives for youth are vital in the renewable sector. Overcoming challenges like policy uncertainty and bureaucratic hurdles will be crucial for realising India’s sustainable development goals in these areas,” he added.
On a similar note, Chakravarthi C, Managing Director of Quantum Energy, said that while the interim budget might not have specified any policy or allocation towards the EV sector, it did mention the intention to promote EV in public transportation. “Additionally, what we need right now is to strengthen the EV ecosystem holistically for which budget is indicated towards policies and measures that will be undertaken to support manufacturing and charging infrastructure. Clearly, EV stands in the priority list of the government and we can expect the upcoming FAME policy and July session to encompass all the particulars,” he added.
Saurabh Kumar, Vice President-India, GEAPP (Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet) said that the announcements are significant for the ongoing efforts for the clean energy transition. He added that the targets’ feasibility will be marked by the successful implementation of policy directives which should be focused on people-positive progress.
“Digitisation efforts will enhance the programmes, especially the rooftop solar scheme. All approvals, assessments of RTS size, financing and vendor selection must be digitised. Energy generation must also be monitored digitally including whether consumers are getting paid for net metering,” he said.
He added that there is also a need to deploy quality systems; giving retail consumers the confidence to deploy these systems – this would require vendor rating and certification coupled with strict quality control of components and systems.
