Pranab Mukherjee warms up to green technology

This year, Pranab Mukherjee has given the greens something they’ve been waiting for — funds for the National Action Plan on Climate Change. He has also announced steps to make solar and wind energy affordable.

Some are calling the announcements expedient, others contradictory.

The minister has announced a concessional customs duty of 5% for equipment needed to set up photo voltaic and solar thermal power units. He’s exempted customs duty and special additional duty from ground source heat pumps used to tap geo-thermal energy.

Shirish Sinha, who heads WWF’s climate and energy programme, said the provisions are a build-up for the next five-year plan, which is supposed to be a low-carbon growth plan. “The first few years of the National Solar Mission are critical because we lay the foundations for upscaling. This budget addresses that need,” Sinha said.
To cut pollution, the government has created a National Clean Energy Fund for innovation on clean technology. It has also allocated Rs500 crore for National Ganga River Basin Authority to protect the river from sewage. From now on, there will be a clean energy cess of Rs50 a tonne on Indian and imported coal. This money will build the corpus of the clean energy fund.
Raman Mehta, senior manager, ActionAid India, believes the budget lacks coherence. “They want increased participation in coal production. So even if you introduce a cess on coal, it doesn’t matter. Besides, there’s an initiative on conservation farming to promote climate change resilience. At the same time, they’re extending green revolution techniques — intensive of water and fertilisers,” Mehta said.
For electric car makers, Mukherjee has announced a nominal duty of 4 per cent on such vehicles and exempted basic customs duties and special additional duty from some critical parts of sub-assemblies. “It’s a welcome step, and the government has made SUVs expensive, because it was the rich who were taking advantage of diesel subsidy,” Chandra Bhushan of the Centre for Science and Environment, said.
The finance minister has also reduced excise duty on LED lights to 4%.

Cleaning up
National Clean Energy Fund for research in clean tech
Govt gives Rs200 cr for restoration of Goa’s beaches and Rs500 cr for Mission Clean Ganga 2020

Exemption from central excise duty and concessional customs duty of 5% on equipment needed to set up photovoltaic and solar thermal power units