'Budget must help achieve govt’s 175 GW renewables target for 2022'

By Saif Dhorajiwala,

"At 1.37 billion people, India’s current share of global primary energy demand at 6% is estimated to grow to 11% by 2040 – this makes India’s demand for energy the fastest growing amongst all the major economies. Renewable sources will play the primary role in helping our country meet this exponentially increasing demand for electricity.

Budget 2020 should ideally outline measures to help achieve the government’s 175 GW renewables target for 2022. Regulatory stability and certainty is imperative to the growth of the sector. The health of Discoms has to be addressed – an announcement of a scheme to address AT&C losses, smart-metering, tariff gaps and ending the state monopoly of Discoms is expected by the market.

The need to accelerate solar + storage solutions is also crucial and India will benefit from working towards this."

(The writer is Co-Founder & ED, Fourth Partner Energy)