Budget Analysis 2017-2018

Let us take a look at the Budget and its ramifications says R Srinivasan.

- R Srinivasan.

The last two years have witnessed an increase in the share of solar in the country’s energy mix. The industry has also managed to drive tariffs down from Rs 12 a kilowatt hour in 2010 to a historic low of Rs 3 in 2016. Now in Budget 201718, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has announced a series of measures such as 20 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity addition and solarising about 7,000 railway stations in the medium term apart from higher spending on rural electrification, among other measures. In October 2016, RE made up 15 per cent of India’s installed electricity production capacity, up from 13.1 per cent in August 2015, according to government data. To achieve its target, India must add 130.76 GW of renewable energy over the next six years, an average of 21.7 GW per year or, three times the capacity it added in 2016. The power sector’s expectations and what policies Budget 2017 should have contained have been covered in extensive detail in our comprehensive Industry Speak section.