Mapping the government incentives in the area of renewable energy, social sector and rural development

Student name: Ms Shilpa Sahu
Guide: Dr Kaushik Ranjan Bandyopadhyay
Year of completion: 2012
Host Organisation: Solaron Sustainability Services Pvt. Ltd.
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Mr Abhishek Dabas

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Abstract:
Renewable Energy

According to the India Energy Handbook 2011, India, a country with over 1.2 billion people and over 17% of the world’s population, has an apparently growing demand for energy. And since the global energy demand has out grown the capacity of new energy supply to reach the markets, the challenges faced by the energy sector have become more evident.

As per US EIA, about 70% of India's energy generation capacity is from fossil fuels, with coal accounting for 40% of India's total energy consumption. There has been shortage of fossil fuels (mainly coal) domestically, and due to the growing energy demand it has lead to increase in fossil fuel imports in the recent years.

Instability of oil prices, rising energy demand, and greater awareness about climate change threats due to fossil fuel usage have evoked interest regarding renewable energy in policy makers in India and internationally.

India's strategy is to encourage the development of renewable energy sources by the use of incentives by the federal and state governments. Renewable resources will not only enhance the energy supply, but also help the country in mitigating climate change.

The MNRE is the nodal Ministry of the Government of India for all matters relating to new and renewable energy. It issues guidelines to all state governments to create an attractive environment for the export, purchase, wheeling and banking of electricity, generated by renewable power projects.

Some of the other key incentives provided by the Government of India for the renewable energy industry are:
• Feed-in-tariffs for both wind and solar energy
• Up to 80 percent accelerated depreciation for renewable energy investments
• Preferential tax rate of 15 percent, instead of the standard 30 percent
• Exemption from Central Sales Tax and customs duty concessions on soft loans for the import of material, components, and equipment used in renewable energy projects
• Soft loans for setting up renewable energy enterprises
• Tax holiday for 10 years for Biomass power projects

Healthcare

In India the development and penetration of healthcare infrastructure is very low, compared to that of developed countries. According to a report by KPMG, there are an average of 0.6 doctors per 1000 population against the global average of 1.23 which suggests an evident manpower gap

Healthcare is one of India’s largest sectors and is rapidly increasing, seeing the amount of revenue and employment. The drivers of growth for this sector are – the increasing population of the country, and a rise in both infectious and chronic degenerative diseases.

The physical infrastructure is woefully inadequate to meet today’s healthcare demands, and the number of public health facilities is inadequate too. According to study by Assocham, the principal responsibility for public health funding lies with the state governments, which provide about 80% of public funding. The federal government contributes another 15%, mostly through national health programs.

Education

Education is one of the most important factors that impact the growth and development of a country as well as the future course of the country’s people. Education not only develops manpower, but also acts as a substrate for research and development. Education is a unique investment in the present and the future.

Even today there are few issues like:
• Providing complete elementary education, and access to secondary and high-quality vocational education
• Ensuring that the education is of good quality so it improves learning and cognitive skills

Rural Development

India is a country of villages and according to 2011 Census about 69 percent of the country’s total population continues to live in rural India.

For better prospects for economic development in the rural areas, rural development programmes, decentralization of planning, better enforcement of land reforms and greater access to credit are envisaged. Rural development implies both the economic betterment of people as well as greater social transformation. So, an integrated concept of growth and poverty elimination should be of paramount concern.