Chinmaya IAS Academy – Current Affairs Chinmaya IAS Academy – Current Affairs
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India likely to consume 1.8 lakh crore units by 2025, says CII
One of the key requirements for a $5-trillion economy is an investment of about Rs. 5 lakh crore in the power transmission sector over the next few years, in order to cater to the 1.8 lakh crore units of electricity that India is likely to consume by 2025, according to a White Paper released by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a $5-trillion economy will require an estimated investment of Rs. 5 lakh crore in the transmission sector over the next few years,” CII said. “As per estimates, India will be consuming 1.8 trillion units by 2025 as India’s growth trajectory accelerates, and this requires large investments in the transmission sector, particularly at the State level.”
The transmission sector, CII added, had seen a reduction in investments to below Rs. 1.8 lakh crore in the last five years. The White Paper goes on to enumerate eight action points that the government must work on to enhance the transmission sector in line with the growth of the economy that is envisaged. “Traditional coal-fired power plants took 5-6 years to build compared to three to four years for construction of transmission lines required for power evacuation,” the White Paper said. “In comparison, wind or solar plants take 12-18 months to build, implying the need for advance planning of transmission projects.” “Currently, the average time taken from the notification of a project to the start of its construction is around 760 days, caused by huge time overruns in the bidding and forest clearance process,” the paper said. The industry body also highlighted the fact that current guidelines for the construction of transmission lines, as laid out by the Central Electricity Authority, did not leave enough scope for adopting new technologies. This increases the capital expenditure and the per unit tariff.
