Union minister of state for power, Bharatsinh Solanki, exhorted industrialists and businessmen in Surat to seriously consider a foray into the power sector.
Union minister of state for power, Bharatsinh Solanki, on Saturday exhorted industrialists and businessmen in Surat to seriously consider a foray into the power sector, saying it offered immense growth potential.
Solanki was speaking after a function organised by The Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry to felicitate him.
“The demand for power is quite high in the country, but there is also a wide gap between supply and demand. The work for liberalizing the sector has already begun, and further easing of regulations and simplifying tax structure is under consideration” Solanki said.
In a bid to promote more investments in the sector, the government is considering higher incentives and benefits, and is also considering several policy changes with regards to merchant sales of power and captive power plants, the minister said, adding that these may take some time to be implemented.
The MP from Anand said the power sector can even be an excellent diversification for our industrialists and businessmen. “For our GDP to grow at 8% or more, it is imperative that power sector grows at 10% or more. This is why we believe, it offers immense potential for growth,” he said.
India’s current power generation capacity is 1.5 lakh MW, and it aims to add 1 lakh MW generation capacity during the 11th Five Year Plan. The government also aims to expand capacity of the national grid from 20000 MW to 35,000 MW by the end of the plan.
In response to industrialists’ concerns over erratic gas supply, the minister said the government was working towards easing the problems.
“The availability of gas in the country will improve drastically when the ongoing dispute over gas is resolved,” he said mentioning the dispute between Mukesh and Anil Ambani groups over gas from KG basin.
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