Being an interim budget only, it is still heart warming to see that “Green Energy Promotion” continues to be a key message of the finance minister in her limited agenda budget speech for 2024. Her reiteration that India is committed to be “Net Zero” by 2070 shows the government’s continuing commitment to all round promotion and development of renewable energy in India in coming years also. Extension of “Viability Gap Funding” for harnessing offshore untapped wind energy potential and take it to 1 GW+ in initial phase along with schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana set the direction for government’s final budget proposals for renewable industry, post elections in April 2024.
Commitment to expand and strengthen EV ecosystem will further give boost to the growth of renewable green energy demand and help government meet its target of 500 GW of green energy by 2030. With this positive framework in the interim budget, the industry feels confident that the final budget proposals of the government will favorably reconsider and implement its following key long pending demands:
1. Further rationalization and realignment of renewable policy framework between State and Central government to tap the large C&I segment.
2. Rationalize and reduce import duty and GST on critical inputs (cells, modules, battery storage solutions, Green Hydrogen equipment etc.) to further give impetus to green energy growth in the country.
3. Prompting industry to exploit PLI scheme benefits to promote in house manufacturing of wafers, ingots and silicon to optimize the solar value chain.
4. Larger allocation of priority capital investment in the sector and helping source project finance through international renewable development organizations at very competitive cost.
5. Extending income tax benefits to newly incorporated power generation companies for one more year beyond 31st March 2024.
