Govt reviews steps for upskilling & increase womens' participation in MSME sector (See 'Corp Brief') PM Vishwakarma Scheme - holistic support for artisans of 18 traditional trades; 23.09 Lakh beneficiaries trained (See 'Corp Brief') Govt notifies DPDP Act & Rules thereof; simplified framework for startups & data fiduciaries (See 'Corp Brief') SARFAESI - as per Sec 15 of the Act, if borrower's management is taken over by secured creditor, the management may be restored upon full repayment of debt: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Afforestation, ecological restoration - coal mining cos steps to ensure ecological balance (See 'Corp Brief') Competition Act - allegations primarily concerning contraventions of the Companies Act or Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports directives, do not relate to anti-competitive conduct or violation of the Act: CCI (See 'Legal Desk') RBI issues guidelines for banks to provide customer services in regional languages (See 'Corp Brief') IBC - If bank has released approved payments from TRA account operated by them, then bank was monitoring these transactions during entire CIRP: IBBI (See 'Legal Desk') Govt releases Credit Assessment Model for MSMEs to enhance digitally driven loan appraisal (See 'Corp Brief') IBBI - Cannot be expected to maintain information with respect to other laws outside its purview: IBBI (See 'Legal Desk') Govt's aid measures for MSMEs - TReDS, Rs 9000 Crore infusion (See 'Corp Brief') Indian media & entertainment sector to maintain growth despite AI disruption: Secy (See 'Corp Brief') PBPT - Transactions are rightly deemed benami u/s 2(9)(D) of PBPTA, where person who provided consideration for properties was not traceable: SAFEMA Tribunal (See 'Legal Desk') Sustainable coal mining - Govt simplifies approval for geological exploration & reports (See 'Corp Brief') Benami - Benami transaction is considered not only in case of transfer of property by beneficial owner for his ultimate benefit in future, but even if such properties is held by benamidar: SAFEMA (See 'Legal Desk') IITF-2025 - FCI Pavilion showcasing modernised foodgrain management bags bronze medal (See 'Corp Brief') Copyright Act - Police have jurisdiction to register FIR u/s 33EEC of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act in conjunction with cognizable offence under Copyright Act; registration of copyright not mandatory for criminal proceedings upon infringement: HC (See 'Legal Desk') VO Chidambarnar port receives first Clinker vessel following MoU with Ambuja Cement Ltd (See 'Corp Brief') PMLA - Sweep of Sec 5(1) is not limited to accused named in criminal activity relating to scheduled offence, but shall apply equally to person who is involved in any activity connected with proceeds of crime: SAFEMA (See 'Legal Desk')

Cabinet okays Budgetary Support for enabling Infrastructure for Hydro Electric Projects

Published: Sep 12, 2024

By TIOLCorplaws News Service

 

NEW DELHI, SEP 12, 2024: THE Union Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Power for modification of the scheme of budgetary support for the cost of Enabling Infrastructure for Hydro Electric Projects (HEP) with a total outlay of Rs.12461 crore. The scheme would be implemented from FY 2024-25 to FY 2031-32.

The Government of India has been taking several policy initiatives to address the issues impeding Hydro Power development, viz., remote locations, hilly areas, lack of infrastructure etc. To promote the hydro power sector and to make it more viable, the Cabinet in  March, 2019, approved measures, namely declaring large hydro power projects as Renewable Energy sources, Hydro Power Purchase Obligations (HPOs), tariff rationalization measures through escalating tariff, budgetary support for flood moderation in storage HEP and budgetary support for the cost of enabling infrastructure, i.e., construction of roads and bridges.

For the faster development of Hydro Electric Projects and improvement of infrastructure in the remote project locations, the following modifications have been made in the earlier scheme:

a) To widen the ambit of the Budgetary Support for cost of Enabling Infrastructure by including four more items apart from construction of roads and bridges i.e., the cost incurred for the construction of:  (i)  transmission line from power house to the nearest pooling point including upgradation of pooling substation of State /Central Transmission Utility  (ii)  ropeways  (iii)  railway siding, and  (iv)  communication infrastructure. The strengthening of existing roads/bridges leading to the project will also be eligible for central assistance under this scheme.

b) The scheme has a total outlay of Rs.12,461 crore for cumulative generation capacity of about 31350 MW to be implemented from FY 2024-25 to FY 2031-32.

c) The scheme will be applicable to all Hydro Power Projects of more than 25 MW capacity including the private sector projects which have been allotted on a transparent basis. This scheme will also be applicable to all Pumped Storage Projects (PSPs) including Captive/Merchant PSPs, provided that the project has been allotted on a transparent basis. A cumulative PSP capacity of about 15,000 MW would be supported under the scheme.

d) The projects whose Letter of Award of first major package is issued upto 30.06.2028 would be considered under this scheme.

e) The limit of Budgetary Support for the cost of Enabling Infrastructure has been rationalized to Rs.1.0 crore/MW for projects up to 200 MW and Rs.200 crore plus Rs.0.75 crore per MW exceeding 200 MW, for projects above 200 MW. For exceptional cases the limit of budgetary support may go upto Rs.1.5 Crore/MW provided sufficient justification exists.

f)  The Budgetary Support for cost of Enabling Infrastructure will be provided after appraisal of the cost of Enabling Infrastructure by the DIB/PIB and approval of the Competent Authority as per extant guidelines.

Benefits:

This revised scheme would help in faster development of hydro electric projects, improve infrastructure in the remote and hilly project locations and would provide large number of direct employment to the local people along with indirect employment / entrepreneurial opportunities through transportation, tourism, small-scale business. It would encourage fresh investments into hydro power sector and incentivize timely completion of new projects.

TIOL CORP SEARCH

TIOL GROUP WEBSITES