NEW DELHI: The Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) Bill, which aims to pave the way for “unlocking” of Rs 41,000 crore earmarked for forest land, would be passed in the upcoming session of the Parliament, Power Minister PiyushGoyal said today.
“CAF Bill got passed in the Lok Sabha. We expect the Bill to be passed in the Rajya Sabha in the next session.
“In this session it (Bill) could have been passed if there was some cooperation. Four months could have been saved. In four months, more tress could have been planted. But then it’s ok, it’s better to be late than never,” Goyal said during the release of an NTPC coffee table book on bio diversity here today.
If passed, the CAF Bill, 2015 will pave the way for expeditious utilisation of funds realised for forest land diverted to non-forest purposes in a transparent manner. It will also “unlock” nearly Rs 41,000 crore earmarked for forest land which is lying unspent for about four years.
Stressing on the rejuvenation of the depleted forest cover, the minister said there is a need to take the country’s valuable forest cover to the level where “our ancestors left it”.
The mission of the present government is to increase use of clean technologies and renewable energy for power generation, making India the Clean Energy Capital of the world.
He also emphasised on the need to restore the forest cover through massive tree plantation.
The minister urged NTPC to increase its tree plantation target and keep a proper record reflecting ownership of the activity.
He said the power sector in India is focusing on environment sustainability and NTPC has taken a lead by preserving flora and fauna in and around its power stations.
Goyal congratulated NTPC on its 4,670 MW largest power station at Vindhyachal achieving 100.05 per cent PLF generating 114 MUs in a day yesterday.
SINGAPORE: Seeking to garner investments for its power sector and infrastructure building, India today apprised Singaporean investors of accelerated reforms and new initiatives of the government.
“I do feel that the mood is very favourable for India. They (investors) can see the India story structurally improving. They can see the demand that India provide and to my mind India can look forward to good investments coming from Singapore,” said the Coal, Power and Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal.
Goyal updated investors, including the Government Investment Corp and state owned Temasek, of a wide ranging investment opportunities in India and the government drive towards swift economic development.
“We had a good sessions with investors during the morning,” said Goyal who addressed Deutsche Bank annual economic conference earlier today.
He also accepted Singapore’s invitation to India to raise more funds from the island city’s vibrant financial centre.
He also called on Singapore deputy Prime Minister TharmanShanmugaratnam.
Later in the afternoon, Goyal visited Singapore’s Institute of Technical Education (ITE) and discussed a possible collaboration with ITE in setting up 21 centres across India as part of the government’s “Skill Development” initiative.
Goyal wrapped up the day by addressing some 250 investors on Indian economy and power sector investments.
Goyal was on a one-day visit to Singapore, leading a high- power delegation from the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
“India needs a massive USD 1 trillion investment for the development of infrastructure over the next five years,” said JyotsnaSuri, the immediate past president of FICCI.
“We are looking at investments across all sectors of the economy,” said HarashavardhanNeotia, FICCI president, who along with Goyal had met with investors at the Deutsche Bank conference.
“We have received a very positive feedback and support from international investors,” said Goyal after a series of meetings during the day-long visit.
“We have had a wide range of discussions with investors,” the minister added.
“There is a new enthusiasm about India among international investors based in Singapore in manufacturing sector, especially in line with Make in India initiative, as well as opportunities in power and renewable energy sector,” said George Abraham, FICCI regional representative in Singapore.
The enthusiasm is further demonstrated by the announcement of Singapore Manufacturing Federation sending delegations to Mumbai and Indore in October this year.
Singapore manufacturing Federation will also be participating in two exhibitions in July, AMTEX in New Delhi and Last Mile Fullfilment India in Mumbai.
“Coming from the manufacturing industry, this augurs well for the Make in India initiative,” Abraham said.
NEW DELHI: The government will launch a campaign to make it compulsory to provide electricity connection to all, the power minister said. PiyushGoyal also said he favoured subsidies to farmers who constituted only a small portion of the national demand.
Goyal said the power ministry would soon approach the Union Cabinet to bring amendments to the UjwalDiscom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) to accommodate states that tried privatisingdiscoms but failed. The government is also working on a takeout financing scheme to revive hydropower plants, he said at a conference, explaining the achievements of the ministries under him in the past two years.
The minister said the campaign, agreed in principle by all states, would ensure electricity connections to all those who apply for it. “Poor people get electricity connection free of cost. But for those who are above poverty line, the amount paid for new connection will be charged through equated monthly instalments in five years. We are working on such scheme and soon launch it,” he added.
He said the Indian farmer deserved to get low cost power and that he supported cross subsidisation by larger commercial or industrial establishment for other consumers.
On hydropower, Goyal said the government was looking at each plant in the country and that he would hold meetings with state power ministers in June to assess the required support.
He said states like Odisha that failed privatising power distribution had evinced interest to be part of the UDAY scheme. Ten states have signed agreements under UDAY, while eight more are likely to join soon.
Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal today said within a short span of three weeks the states could sell bonds worth Rs one lakh crore.
As per the schedule we will have another round of sale of state government bonds and discom bonds backed by state government guarantees this fiscal. We have already sold Rs one lakh crore worth of such bonds. The plan is all made out and from time to time these will be approved by the Reserve Bank as per a set procedure, Goyal said one the sidelines of the convocation of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences here.
On coal availability, he said there was sufficient quantity of stock to the extent that in the past four months the government had to regulate production.
He further said to ensure energy security, the government will cut down coal imports further this year and hope to save about Rs 40,000 crore from this.
So far, 10 states, including those with heavily indebted discoms like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan, have signed up for the Uday scheme, launched last year to bail out the broke state electricity boards (SEBs). But highly broke SEBs like that of Tamil Nadu which has huge debt of Rs 80,000 crore, has refrained from embracing the scheme.
The scheme envisages the respective states taking over 75 per cent of the SEB dents of Rs 4.3 trillion into their books but will not be calculated as their fiscal deficit. This involves taking over 50 per cent of the short-term liabilities of their respective discoms in FY16 and remaining 25 per cent in FY17.
Uday was launched on November 20 last year to help loss-making power distribution companies in the states to come out of a debt trap of Rs 4.3 lakh crore by March 2016.
In response to the scheme, only 10 states have signed MoUs with the Centre while eight have taken over nearly Rs 99,000 crore, or 50 per cent of their discoms debt by issuing non-SLR bonds on a private placement basis.
Meanwhile, Goyal called upon the institute TISS to conduct training for ministers and bureaucrats in social sciences.
“The TISS should consider training programme in behavioural sciences, ethics and leadership for ministers and other public servants,” he said while addressing the 76th convocation of the premier institute.
TISS was set up by the Tatas in 1936 as the first School of Social Work in the country and became a deemed university in 1964 and is now an autonomous body under the Central government.
Besides the main campus at the northeastern suburb of Deonar, it also has campuses in Hyderabad, Guwahati and Tuljapur. Its Masters programme in HR and Labour Relations is one of the most sought-after programmes in HR in the country.
MUMBAI: Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal today said within a short span of three weeks the states could sell bonds worth Rs 1 trillion.
As per the schedule we will have another round of sale of state government bonds and discom bonds backed by state government guarantees this fiscal. We have already sold Rs 1 trillion worth of such bonds. The plan is all made out and from time to time these will be approved by the Reserve Bank as per a set procedure, Goyal said one the sidelines of the convocation of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences here.
On coal availability, he said there was sufficient quantity of stock to the extent that in the past four months the government had to regulate production.
He further said to ensure energy security, the government will cut down coal imports further this year and hope to save about Rs 40,000 crore from this.
So far, 10 states, including those with heavily indebted discoms like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan, have signed up for the Uday scheme, launched last year to bail out the broke state electricity boards (SEBs). But highly broke SEBs like that of Tamil Nadu which has huge debt of Rs 80,000 crore, has refrained from embracing the scheme.
The scheme envisages the respective states taking over 75 per cent of the SEB dents of Rs 4.3 trillion into their books but will not be calculated as their fiscal deficit. This involves taking over 50 per cent of the short-term liabilities of their respective discoms in FY16 and remaining 25 per cent in FY17.
Uday was launched on November 20 last year to help loss-making power distribution companies in the states to come out of a debt trap of Rs 4.3 lakh crore by March 2016.
In response to the scheme, only 10 states have signed MoUs with the Centre while eight have taken over nearly Rs 99,000 crore, or 50 per cent of their discoms debt by issuing non-SLR bonds on a private placement basis.
Meanwhile, Goyal called upon the institute TISS to conduct training for ministers and bureaucrats in social sciences.
“The TISS should consider training programme in behavioural sciences, ethics and leadership for ministers and other public servants,” he said while addressing the 76th convocation of the premier institute.
TISS was set up by the Tatas in 1936 as the first School of Social Work in the country and became a deemed university in 1964 and is now an autonomous body under the Central government.
Besides the main campus at the northeastern suburb of Deonar, it also has campuses in Hyderabad, Guwahati and Tuljapur. Its Masters programme in HR and Labour Relations is one of the most sought-after programmes in HR in the country.
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