By Imaan Javan

Union Budget 2020 India: As the government will present its 2020 budget on 1st February, we hope the Finance Ministry under the leadership of Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman to introduce a special deduction in GST in the renewable energy industry. Last year, the budgetary allocation for the solar power sector was Rs. 3,004 crore. We hope the budget for the renewable sector is increased significantly as compared to last year. The government should continue to focus on investments in manufacturing of solar photovoltaic cells, solar electric charging infrastructure and batteries which would provide a major support to the renewable energy sector.

Budget 2020: Setting target on energy access

The government should continue its focus on energy access by setting a target of providing electricity. Central and state governments should work towards eliminating Cross Subsidy Surcharge (CSS), Additional Surcharge (AS) as well as other non-tariff hurdles impeding open access of electricity. This will bring immense benefits to all kinds of industries and should be rolled out at the earliest.

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Budget 2020: Suitable capacity installation and investments

We need support from the Government for sustainable capacity installation and investments. The government should give importance to renewable energy by exempting solar and wind energy equipment and installations from the Goods and Service Tax (GST).

A clear decisive draft should be put forward on GST for solar projects. The Government should put forward finance schemes for the renewable energy sector at reduced rates of interest to make the cost of renewable energy more competitive.

The Government should also be emphasizing on implementing amendments in the Electricity Act of 2003 with a focus on accelerating open access policies to address many of the challenges and inefficiencies which are there within the power distribution sector. We look forward to the government to tap the immense potential in solar rooftop projects as it is a key to achieve the target of 175 GW of renewable energy installations by 2020.

The above mentioned initiatives will act as a propellant to push forward the solar energy segment and will also promote development of clean energy in our country as well as provide employment opportunities within the country. These steps would bring significant benefits to the economy as well as consumers.

We are positive that the Union Budget 2020 will provide valuable measures for the renewable industry.

The onus is on the government to provide the right impetus.

The columnist is Director of Suntuity Renewable Energy India. Views expressed are author’s own.