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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Govt approves funds for power sector push
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Govt approves funds for power sector push

Outlay of `43,033 crore to fund initiative to supply electricity through separate feeders for agricultural and rural domestic consumption

Separating electricity feeders is aimed at ensuring that while farmers receive optimal electricity, the quality of power and its availability for rural households also improves. Photo: MintPremium
Separating electricity feeders is aimed at ensuring that while farmers receive optimal electricity, the quality of power and its availability for rural households also improves. Photo: Mint

New Delhi: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government on Thursday approved an outlay of 43,033 crore to fund an ambitious initiative to supply electricity through separate feeders for agricultural and rural domestic consumption, aimed at providing round-the-clock power to village households.

In addition, the cabinet also approved spending 32,612 crore on an integrated power development initiative, which involves strengthening sub-transmission and distribution systems, according to a government statement.

Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY), named after an icon of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is aimed at ensuring around eight hours of quality power supply to agricultural consumers and 24-hour electricity to households.

In addition, it would also help reduce India’s aggregate transmission and commercial (AT&C) losses by five percentage points from the present 27%.

Separating electricity feeders is aimed at ensuring that while farmers receive optimal electricity, the quality of power and its availability for rural households also improves.

It will also ensure that users are billed and technical and commercial losses because of theft are reduced. The scheme is based on an initiative called Jyotigram Yojana in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat and is named after the late Deendayal Upadhyaya, a leader of the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the forerunner of the BJP.

Mint reported on 8 September about the proposed outlays.

The cabinet also decided to merge the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) and the restructured accelerated power development reform programme (R-APDRP) with DDUGJY and Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS), respectively.

RGGVY is a programme aimed at boosting rural electrification for which an outlay of 39,275 crore, including budgetary support of 35,447 crore, has already been approved.

“This outlay will be carried forward to the new scheme of DDUGJY in addition to the outlay of 43,033 crore," the government’s press statement said.

The previous government last year approved an outlay of 44,011 crore for the R-APRDP, including a budgetary support of 22,727 crore. The outlay “will be carried over to the new scheme of IPDS", the statement added.

In line with Prime Minister Modi’s strategy of accelerating development of infrastructure along the country’s frontier, the cabinet also approved 5,111.33 crore for the North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project for the six states of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura and Nagaland.

The project is aimed at strengthening the intra-state transmission and distribution systems in the region.

In other decisions, the cabinet approved signing and ratifying the Saarc Regional Railways Agreement. Saarc is short for South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, whose members are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The Saarc Regional Railways Agreement will strengthen transport connectivity in the region. Stronger rail connectivity will not only provide a stimulus to the economic development in the region as a whole but also promote social and cultural contact and encourage tourism amongst member-states.

The agreement will also enable low cost, energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable transportation in the Saarc region and provide trade and economic links for land-locked countries and semi-isolated regions.

The cabinet also cleared signing and ratifying the Saarc Motor Vehicles Agreement at the Saarc summit on 26-27 November in Kathmandu.

Under the agreement, member-states will allow vehicles registered in other countries that are part of Saarc to ply in their territory for transportation of cargo and passengers, subject to terms and conditions and obtaining permits. The agreement, once signed, will result in closer regional economic cooperation and integration through enhanced regional connectivity by allowing movement of goods and passengers in the region through road transport.

utpal.b@livemint.com

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Utpal Bhaskar
"Utpal Bhaskar leads Mint's policy and economy coverage. He is part of Mint’s launch team, which he joined as a staff writer in 2006. Widely cited by authors and think-tanks, he has reported extensively on the intersection of India’s policy, polity and corporate space.
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Published: 21 Nov 2014, 12:20 AM IST
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