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<ul><li>NIIF’s MD and CEO Sujoy Bose gives a break up of investments across sectors to hit its <keyword id="34553" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="renewable-energy" source="Orion">renewable energy</keyword> targets by 2030.</li><li><keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> needs to invest $200 billion to set up 500GW of non-fossil fuel energy. </li><li>The country needs $160 billion to fund its <keyword id="8411893" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="green-hydrogen" source="Orion">green hydrogen</keyword> goals. </li><li>The capex that must be spent towards electric vehicles is $200 billion, says Bose.</li></ul>India needs hundreds of billions of dollars in capital infusion to meet its sustainability and renewable energy targets. Sujoy Bose, the MD and CEO of the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, has put a number on it – $560 billion. That’s more than a seventh of India’s current GDP of $3.5 trillion. According to Bose, India needs to invest trillions of dollars to achieve its goal of “Net Zero” by 2070. Bose said India’s sustainability goals could not only help it environmentally, but also economically. “India can become a new hub for technology and its deployment. Investing in sustainability is required to be at the forefront of new industries,” Bose said at the annual FICCI Capital Markets conference, adding that these investments could lead to new, higher income jobs as well. This has the implication of uplifting India’s median wages as well, which stood at $400, placed 72nd among 106 countries in a 2020 survey. Here’s a breakdown of the different renewable energy bills India will need to fund, according to Bose: <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="$200 billion for 500GW of non-fossil fuel energy by 2030" comment="subhead" text="$200 billion for 500GW of non-fossil fuel energy by 2030">$200 billion for 500GW of non-fossil fuel energy by 2030</cmsannotation> Currently, 40% of India’s total energy needs are met by renewables and hydro power. The government intends to increase this to 60% by the end of the decade, and that will need over $200 billion in funds, according to Bose. As of now, India’s total renewable energy capacity stands at 160GW, and the government has a goal of expanding it to 500GW by 2030. By the government’s estimates, India’s total energy capacity would more than double from the current 404GW to 820GW by 2030. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="$160 billion to fund India’s green hydrogen goals" comment="subhead" text="$160 billion to fund India’s green hydrogen goals">$160 billion to fund India’s green hydrogen goals</cmsannotation> Green hydrogen is being seen by many as a key component of achieving “Net Zero” status. This prospect has India’s richest men – Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani – excited. Earlier this year, Adani Enterprises announced a partnership with France’s TotalEnergies to create a green hydrogen ecosystem with an investment of $50 billion over the next 10 years. Ambani, on the other hand, pledged $75 billion towards <keyword id="60895" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="green-energy" source="Orion">green energy</keyword> – including an undisclosed sum towards green hydrogen. Yet, these announcements are still not close to the total capex required for green hydrogen goals. But help is coming, including from the state-run Indian Oil Corporation, and the Hyderabad-based Greenko group. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="$200 billion for India’s EV goals by 2030" comment="subhead" text="$200 billion for India’s EV goals by 2030">$200 billion for India’s EV goals by 2030</cmsannotation> The EV revolution might still be on its way to India, but there has been an uptick in EV sales over the past two years — inching towards 5 lakh units. A report by India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) states that EV sales could increase at a compounded annual growth rate of 49% till 2030, touching total sales of 17 million. For that to materialize, though, Bose says a massive $200 billion capex is needed. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Here’s how India can fund its renewable energy goals" comment="subhead" text="Here’s how India can fund its renewable energy goals">Here’s how India can fund its renewable energy goals</cmsannotation> According to Bose, three types of capital will be required to fund India’s renewable energy goals, including equity, risk capital, and debt. “The government has shown the way via the regulatory innovation in the case of renewable energy – the creation of the Solar Energy Corp of India, combined with tools such as priority dispatch, was crucial to give a fillip to private investment in the renewable sector,” he said. He says this has led to renewable energy generation being cheaper than coal-fired power in many cases. For now, though, most of the equity investment in the renewable energy sector is foreign. Bose says that linking international and domestic finance to climate-related projects will help close the gap. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/cant-be-locking-horns-with-zomato-and-swiggy-says-restaurant-body/articleshow/94203208.cms">Can’t be locking horns with Zomato and Swiggy, says restaurant body</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/these-are-the-best-and-worst-performing-nifty-indices-in-2022-so-far/articleshow/94149156.cms">These are the best and worst performing Nifty indices in 2022 so far</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/explained-what-are-you-in-investing-in-when-youre-investing-in-nifty50/articleshow/94041896.cms">Explained: What are you investing in when you’re investing in Nifty50</a>

The bill for India's renewable energy goals by 2030 – $560 billion

Asia’s biggest co-working space, <keyword id="3502552" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Awfis">Awfis</keyword> with 2,500 seats is not just changing the way we work but is making sure we actually work. 
 Awfis recently launched a mobile office which is typically a van equipped with all the features you need on-the-move to work. Facilities like Wi-Fi; teleconferencing, printing, <keyword id="6354857" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="CCTV">CCTV</keyword> ,pantry and even a meeting table for their partner companies that want the employees’ commute time to be used productively. Now, that’s effective considering if you are forced to commute to Gurgaon or <keyword id="6356788" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Greater-Noida">Greater Noida</keyword> for work and you live in Delhi, the commute time can easily range between 2-4 hours every day, to-and-fro. 
 Amit Ramani, CEO, <keyword id="3207074" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Awfis-Space-Solutions">Awfis Space Solutions</keyword> caught up with <keyword id="824043" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Business-Insider">Business Insider</keyword> to tell us how Awfis is making sure that people ACTUALLY WORK at the office. ‘We are providing real-time analytics to companies that want to know if their employees are actually working out of our co-working space.’ Awfis has many companies like <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword>, Renew Power, FICCI etc. are taking up seats at the co-working facility to give their employees an option to work near-home. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/A-survey-reveals-60-of-employed-Indians-aspire-to-be-entrepreneurs/articleshow/55152360.cms">The employees can be tracked </a>through CCTV cameras, in-out times and of course through Wifi usage. Good day for the honest workers. 
All of this to ensure that you are working, at your convenience. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Snapdeal-is-moving-its-employees-to-co-working-setup/articleshow/55182709.cms">ALSO READ: Snapdeal is moving its employees to this co-working setup</a> 
 
Sadly for workers,<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Now-you-can-list-your-car-for-rent-and-get-paid-for-it/articleshow/55154351.cms"> traffic </a><a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Now-you-can-list-your-car-for-rent-and-get-paid-for-it/articleshow/55154351.cms">jams</a><a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Now-you-can-list-your-car-for-rent-and-get-paid-for-it/articleshow/55154351.cms">, </a>and bad connectivity can no more be valid excuses for missed deadlines.

This ‘Awfis’ is making sure that employees work every minute
of the working hours

According to reports, e-commerce giant <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword> is shifting their staff from a 200-capacity space in Malad, Mumbai to about 90-seats in the <keyword id="3502552" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Awfis">Awfis</keyword> Space Solutions. 
 The first thought that comes to mind after reading this is that the e-commerce industry in India is running into such high losses that cutting costs has become necessary. The other thing worth noting is the fact that <keyword id="2498362" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="co-working">co-working</keyword> spaces have become such a norm that companies prefer it over the traditional office space. 
 Even as cash-strapped <keyword id="6362513" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Startups">startups</keyword> are creating demand for co-working spaces in the metro cities, it is not clear why Snapdeal decided to move employees into this setup. The company told media earlier that the move to shift its Mumbai office to a co-working hub is not aimed at <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Now-you-can-list-your-car-for-rent-and-get-paid-for-it/articleshow/55154351.cms">cost reduction.</a> It is to make commuting easier for as the new office is centrally located and provides better public transport connectivity with Mumbai metro in the vicinity. 
 
However, sources have confirmed that the company's move comes after it decided to cut on the space requirements as per the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Redefining-the-concept-of-tea-breaks-for-corporates/articleshow/55095324.cms">business demand</a>. 
 According to a <keyword id="6363605" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="knight-frank">Knight Frank</keyword> report, any office space maintenance and cost in Mumbai, Delhi or Bangalore can cost between US$25,000 to US$30,000 a year. The report suggested that office sharing could save new businesses between 73 percent and 76 percent of the total cost. In India as of now, there are close to 61 co-working spaces, according to startup tracking firm Traxcn, of which 16 were set up in 2016 and this number keeps growing. Recently, U.S. office rental startup WeWork announced that it is opening a center in India starting from the second quarter of 2017. 
 
So what is the real pull here? Most start-ups working out of this space think it’s the opportunity to work with people with different skill sets that can act as a pool of talent, mentors, and advice. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/A-survey-reveals-60-of-employed-Indians-aspire-to-be-entrepreneurs/articleshow/55152360.cms">ALSO READ: A survey reveals 60% of employed Indians aspire to be entrepreneurs</a> 
 Awfis specifically has turned it into a lucrative marketing channel for financial and consumer brands partnering with 50 brands including Dunkin Donut, MakeMyTrip, <keyword id="87153" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="BNP-Paribas">BNP Paribas</keyword> and OLX to provide members with discounts in exchange for marketing commission. So while on their website, a 9 persons office in <keyword id="6366112" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Andheri-East">Andheri East</keyword> costs INR 117,000 per month or INR 5,000 per month for a desk, Snapdeal might just have struck a smart deal with the enterprise. 
 <keyword id="824043" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Business-Insider">Business Insider</keyword> caught up with Amit Ramani, CEO, Awfis Space Solutions, which is <keyword id="52011" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="South-Asia">South Asia</keyword>'s biggest co-working space provider with 2500+ seats, and he was very bullish on the idea that big corporates are adjusting to co-working spaces,' The MSME sector will lead the change when it comes to debunking the conventional office spaces. Many organisations like Renew Power, FICCI are working with us to give their employees a chance to work near their homes instead of battling traffic which saves time and money and increases productivity scores.' 
​ 
The actual premise is that traditional offices are out of date. People everywhere, at start-ups or in large corporations, want open, creative spaces with cross collaboration, latest services like internet, security, food, and coffee and fresh design that doesn’t bore them. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Heres-how-you-can-go-kayaking-cliffjumping-snorkelling-ziplining-and-camping-all-in-just-under-Rs-4000/articleshow/55113996.cms">They don’t mind a desk job as long as it is on a bean bag in the middle of a coffee shop.</a> 
 
Image credits- Awfis.com

Snapdeal is moving its employees to this co-working setup

Energy for all is the need of the hour, especially in an emerging <keyword id="34412" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="economy">economy</keyword> like <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> where a big chunk of the population still can’t access <keyword id="1977921" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Modern-energy-sources">modern energy sources</keyword> and the overall growth of the country suffers due to such non-inclusion. The outlook is not exactly bright at this point as India ranks 69th among 124 <keyword id="6407494" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="countries">countries</keyword> in the recently released <keyword id="1970968" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="global-energy-architecture-performance-index">Global Energy Architecture Performance Index</keyword> (<keyword id="1977925" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="EAPI">EAPI</keyword>) Report 2014, prepared by the <keyword id="69007" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="World-Economic-Forum">World Economic Forum</keyword> in collaboration with <keyword id="6370971" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Accenture">Accenture</keyword>. 
 India, with an overall score of 0.48, has the second lowest <keyword id="1379968" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="energy-performance">energy performance</keyword> in the <keyword id="1977931" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="BRICS-cluster">BRICS cluster</keyword> that also includes <keyword id="6355226" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Brazil">Brazil</keyword>, <keyword id="6358826" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Russia">Russia</keyword>, <keyword id="1334" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="China">China</keyword> and <keyword id="6355117" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="South-Africa">South Africa</keyword>. Interestingly, China lies at the bottom among the <keyword id="175259" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Brics">BRICS</keyword> (85th with a score of 0.45), but other countries in this group are way ahead of India and its neighbour. Ranked 22nd, Brazil tops the BRICS group with a score of 0.64, extracting 50% more <keyword id="35050" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="gdp">GDP</keyword> per unit of energy use than the average of the other <keyword id="486040" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="BRICS-countries">BRICS countries</keyword>. It is followed by the Russian Federation (28th, with a score of 0.62) and South <keyword id="12925" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="Africa">Africa</keyword> (54th, with a score of 0.54). 
 The top 10 performers are mostly EU and/or <keyword id="1977933" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="OECD-nations">OECD nations</keyword> – <keyword id="6356961" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Norway">Norway</keyword>, <keyword id="22501" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="New-Zealand">New Zealand</keyword>, <keyword id="6354785" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="France">France</keyword>, <keyword id="23050" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sweden">Sweden</keyword>, <keyword id="103" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Switzerland">Switzerland</keyword>, <keyword id="49968" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Denmark">Denmark</keyword>, <keyword id="6363645" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Spain">Spain</keyword> and <keyword id="106735" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="latvia">Latvia</keyword> – with the exception of <keyword id="15385" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Colombia">Colombia</keyword> (7th) and <keyword id="57870" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Costa-Rica">Costa Rica</keyword> (9th). The US came in 37th, followed by <keyword id="6355311" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Japan">Japan</keyword>. The regions covered in the report include <keyword id="1977935" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="EU28">EU28</keyword>, <keyword id="195393" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="MENA">MENA</keyword>, BRICS, <keyword id="6378080" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="North-America">North America</keyword>, <keyword id="303353" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sub-Saharan-Africa">Sub-Saharan Africa</keyword> and the <keyword id="5891" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="ASEAN">ASEAN</keyword>. 
 
Why we need EAPI Before we consider why India is lagging behind the rest, it is important to understand the dimensions of the ‘<keyword id="1977936" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Energy-triangle">energy triangle</keyword>’ and what it takes to achieve top-level energy performance. During the past three years, the World Economic Forum has been working on the <keyword id="1978006" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="New-Energy-Architecture">new energy architecture</keyword>, defined as the integrated physical system of <keyword id="689119" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="energy-sources">energy sources</keyword>, carriers and demand sectors. The ‘energy triangle’ frames the key objectives of the <keyword id="1977939" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Energy-architecture">energy architecture</keyword> – the ability to provide secure, affordable and <keyword id="1977947" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Environmentally-sustainable-energy-supply">environmentally sustainable energy supply</keyword>. Accordingly, the Global Index has used 18 indicators to assess 6 regions and 124 countries under three baskets – <keyword id="1977948" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Economic-growth-and-development">economic growth and development</keyword>, <keyword id="585025" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="environmental-sustainability">environmental sustainability</keyword> and <keyword id="1714410" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Energy-access">energy access</keyword> &amp; security – while analysing the complex trade-offs and dependencies that affect the efforts of each country under review. 
 “Resource, wealth or <keyword id="352701" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Economic-Development">economic development</keyword> alone do not guarantee high performance on the Index,” said Roberto Bocca, senior director and head of energy industries at the World Economic Forum. “For an <keyword id="1977954" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Effective-energy-system">effective energy system</keyword>, countries need to focus on all three sides of the energy triangle – environmental sustainability, security of supply and affordability,” he added. Undoubtedly a difficult task, if you look at the toppers or any other country, for that matter. No single country has got a top score of 1/1 for the overall Index (an average of the scores posted under the three heads) and no one has hit a ‘perfect 1’ either, under any of the three baskets. 
 
 
 
Four factors hindering India’s energy performance 
Low access: Let’s look at the grassroots first. Energy access across BRICS is high, with the exception of India and South Africa which continue to face <keyword id="1977958" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Lower-electrification-rates">lower electrification rates</keyword> for rural and low-income groups. In fact, India is the lowest performer within the BRICS cluster (0.54/1), with only 75% accessing modern energy sources. It means around 293 million people go without those, compared to just 4 million in China. 
 However, there are longer-term solutions on the cards. Alongside a number of national and international initiatives, the government is currently running the Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reform Programme or <keyword id="398803" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="R-APDRP">R-APDRP</keyword>, directing around $10 billion over the coming years for <keyword id="1977960" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Grid-modernisation">grid modernisation</keyword>. India has also launched a <keyword id="856064" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Remote-Village-Electrification">Remote Village Electrification</keyword> programme while the <keyword id="386624" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ministry-of-New-and-Renewable-Energy">Ministry of New and Renewable Energy</keyword> is targeting the installed capacity from new <keyword id="430844" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="renewables">renewables</keyword> to reach 21,700 MW by 2017 (more on India’s <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Five-Moves-That-Will-Power-Indias-Green-Shift/articleshow/23463110.cms">green power</a> here). 
 
Increasing <keyword id="1977962" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Reliance-on-energy-imports">reliance on energy imports</keyword>: Large-scale economic expansion across the country has triggered bigger <keyword id="6417014" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="energy-consumption">energy consumption</keyword> and a crippling dependence on imports – a major factor behind the ballooning trade and <keyword id="894126" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="current-account-deficits">current account deficits</keyword>. India is one of the biggest importers of crude oil and more than half of its $191 billion <keyword id="113688" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="trade-deficit">trade deficit</keyword> in FY2013 – $109 billion, to be precise – accounted for oil, with the country importing around 82% of its requirements, mostly from the <keyword id="138623" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gulf-countries">Gulf countries</keyword>. Overall, 28% of the country’s <keyword id="1977965" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Net-energy-consumption">net energy consumption</keyword> is met through imports and among the BRICS, India has the <keyword id="1977966" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Highest-spend-on-fuel-imports">highest spend on fuel imports</keyword> relative to GDP (10%). 
 It’s a kind of vicious cycle, to say the least, which is negatively impacting the <keyword id="6356076" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="indian-economy">Indian economy</keyword>. “The whole mess in the <keyword id="52599" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="100" keywordseo="CAD">CAD</keyword> is due to the imports of both coal and oil,” Vivek Pandit, senior director for energy at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (<keyword id="6355001" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="FICCI">FICCI</keyword>) told FT. Worried by the current account deficit, <keyword id="44528" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="FDI">FDI</keyword> and <keyword id="68968" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="institutional-investors">institutional investors</keyword> gradually started withdrawing their support since March this year. This fuelled a substantial weakening of the <keyword id="6355302" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Rupee">Rupee</keyword> and resulted in a drawdown of <keyword id="6368276" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Foreign-exchange">foreign exchange</keyword> to the tune of $12.8 billion. According to a PwC report, the drawdown could have been avoided, had India produced 17 million tonnes more oil than its current domestic production. 
 Worse still, <keyword id="1977973" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indias-oil-import-dependency">India’s oil import dependency</keyword> is forecast to grow another 10 percentage points to exceed 90% by 2031. While increasing domestic exploration will help to a certain extent, India must try and curb the <keyword id="1977977" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Oil-bills">oil bills</keyword> further by seeking new suppliers and buying more stake into African and other <keyword id="1977979" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Non-Gulf-oil-and-gas-assets">non-Gulf oil and gas assets</keyword>. 
 This part of the strategy is slowly taking shape as <keyword id="81864" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="ONGC-Videsh">ONGC Videsh</keyword>, the overseas investment arm of <keyword id="55282" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="India-Government">India government</keyword>’s flagship oil and gas explorer <keyword id="118729" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Oil-Natural-Gas-Corp">Oil &amp; Natural Gas Corp</keyword>, has been pushing hard to build up a <keyword id="1977984" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Diversified-portfolio-of-foreign-assets">diversified portfolio of foreign assets</keyword> to minimise the country’s dependency on the Middle East. <keyword id="6354737" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="ONGC">ONGC</keyword> Videsh has recently signed two multi-billion-dollar deals to buy into offshore natural gas assets in <keyword id="6372754" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mozambique">Mozambique</keyword>. It has a significant presence in <keyword id="48890" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Latin-America">Latin America</keyword> and is also looking for exploration assets in <keyword id="6356970" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Myanmar">Myanmar</keyword>, <keyword id="6354759" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bangladesh">Bangladesh</keyword>, <keyword id="30174" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Lebanon">Lebanon</keyword> and <keyword id="6355478" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Australia">Australia</keyword>. 
 
Prevalence of <keyword id="1896941" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="energy-subsidies">energy subsidies</keyword>: Another factor that is dragging India down by increasing oil demand and widening the budget deficit. Both India and Russia are the lowest performers for the indicator on <keyword id="1977989" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Liquid-fuel-subsidies">liquid fuel subsidies</keyword>. India’s subsidies for diesel put it in the lower quartile globally for this indicator even as the country is trying to improve <keyword id="1977991" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Energy-affordability">energy affordability</keyword> and access for lower-income groups. 
 
Coal-dependence hurts: At present, coal dominates the country’s <keyword id="1798751" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="energy-mix">energy mix</keyword> with a robust 53% share in <keyword id="1977995" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Primary-energy-consumption">primary energy consumption</keyword>, affecting India’s score in terms of environmental sustainability. The country has scored 0.41/1, underlining the challenge it faces in diversifying the energy mix beyond <keyword id="181402" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="fossil-fuels">fossil fuels</keyword>. Although energy trade can have positive impacts here, it can also pose economic and <keyword id="1977997" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Energy-security-risks">energy security risks</keyword>, especially as we are dependent only on a few trading partners. 
 Interestingly, 41% of the <keyword id="1200645" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="energy-supply">energy supply</keyword> in the top 10 countries comes from low-carbon energy sources, compared to a global average of 28%. India, too, is rolling out low-carbon power generation through plans to increase <keyword id="43870" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="nuclear-capacity">nuclear capacity</keyword> from the current 4.4 GW to 5.3 GW by 2016. 
 
The bottom line “Our analysis concludes that there is no single way forward; each country must work with its own resources and constraints, making difficult choices and trade-offs,” said Arthur Hanna, Managing Director, Energy Industry, Accenture, and a Member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on New Energy Architecture. “The Index helps nations take stock of their energy transition challenges and address key barriers to success, such as market distorting subsidies, continued uncertainty around energy policy and funding for research and development of <keyword id="1978009" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="New-energy-sources">new energy sources</keyword> and technologies.” 
 
Keeping that in mind, can India cope with the transition and morph its energy policies accordingly? 
 
Top Image: Wikipedia 
Data chart: World Economic Forum

Energy
Performance: Is India
Losing Out On Power Play?

This time when Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present Budget 2016-17 on February 29, the renewable energy sector will be pinning hopes as they have sought VAT exemption and incentives for solar parks. 
 
The solar industry has demanded a sovereign fund to back dollar-denominated solar tariffs, solar equipment exempted from value added tax (VAT) as well as stability in wind power policies from Jaitley. 
 
FICCI maintained that solar parks should be exempted from MAT. 
 
"Solar parks should be treated at par with special economic zones (SEZs) and minimum alternate tax (MAT) exemption may be provided to power projects within solar parks," FICCI’s pre-budget memorandum stated. 
 
The industry body has also sought 2% export incentive that was given for solar components until last year but now is restricted to Category B countries. 
 
Renewable energy projects have the benefit of accelerated depreciation (AD) by which developers are allowed to claim 90% depreciation in the first year of functioning itself. 
 
Experts say the dollar-based solar tariff fund would be huge for foreign investors worried about the depreciating rupee. 
 
Meanwhile, solar manufacturing has a different view. 
 
"The simple problem with solar cell and module manufacturing in India is that it is not competitive," Jasmeet Khurana, associate director consulting, Bridge to India, told ET, adding “making them cheaply and well depends on scale, access to cheap capital, vertical integration with access to cheap and reliable energy and a level playing field against other Asian manufacturers. None of these are available in India."

Budget 2016: Renewable energy sector seeks VAT exemption on solar equipment, tariffs

New Delhi, Feb 25 () Critical personal data of the people must be kept within the country, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said here on Tuesday.The statement comes in the backdrop of India mandating global technology giants including Mastercard and Visa to comply with the data localisation norms in the public interest. Data localisation requires data about residents be collected, processed, and stored inside the country, often before being transferred internationally, and usually transferred only after meeting local privacy or data protection laws."On cross border data, I am quite clear that...there is vast amount of data and critical personal data must be kept within the country. I am a great believer that the personalised critical human data definitely must be kept within the country," he said.Kant also said that the government is in the process of creating a portal to share data on public platform for public use as India generates a huge amount of data."India has a vast amount of data. Niti Aayog is working on a portal to put this data in an anonymous manner in public domain so that the people across the sectors can utilise it," he said at the US-India Forum organised by industry body FICCI and supported by the central government.India has over 2,000 startups working in artificial intelligence and machine learning and the start-ups can't be starved of the data. "There is a need to create an economic framework for data pooling as a business resource in a responsible manner. It is not possible for India to grow rapidly at high rates without a technological leapfrogging in many areas of growth. India has to get into sunrise areas of the industry, and I believe India can radically change the landscape of electric mobility," said Kant.The Niti Aayog CEO said India offers the size and scale to do innovations across health and education among other sectors. India has a scale of data that no other country can offer. "Indians are going to use data to a greater size and scale as we are the only country in the world which has a varied bank of biometrics," he added.Aruna Sundararajan, former telecom secretary, said: "We must open up and enlarge the regulatory sandboxes in every area and have a full play for innovations."In a separate session on Advancing US-India Energy Cooperation, ReNew Power Chairman and Managing Director Sumant Sinha said there is a need for structural reforms in the power sector.The most important thing that needs to be looked at is that renewable energy is subset of power sector, he said, adding unless some structural reforms in the power sector are done, there will be problems in all parts of value chain in power sector including renewables. "We have state power distribution companies which are in poor financial health. If the health of discoms does not improve then fundamentally we will not have healthy power sector. It is not just renewables but also thermal power generating companies (which are affected due to discoms non-payment)," Sinha said.He also talked about issues such as land acquisition, local connectivity which need to be sorted out to give boost to power sector in the country. KPM KKS MKJ

Critical personal data must be kept within country: Niti CEO

New Delhi, Jun 18 () Opening of the coal sector to private players will generate jobs, reduce dependence on fuel import, stimulate the economy and catalyse the country's path towards a USD 5-trillion economy, the industry said on Thursday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the virtual auction process for 41 coal blocks for commercial mining, which is expected to garner Rs 33,000 crore of capital investment in the country over next 5-7 years. Industry body Ficci said that commercial mining will modernise the coal sector. "This landmark reform will unlock country's natural resources," Ficci President Sangita Reddy said. CII stated that the de-nationalisation of the coal sector will help in bringing new investment and advancement in technology. "It is a watershed moment in the history of the coal sector for India. The step reflects the GOI's firm commitment in moving towards AtmaNirbhar Bharat. It is also important to look at important aspects as quality of coal and coal prices at the outset so that the sector is streamlined in terms of policy and regulations to support India's vision," CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said in a statement. The auction of coal mines for commercial mining and relaxation of FDI in the coal sector will create a lot of interest for companies engaged in the coal mining and associated activities such as mine developer and operator (MDO) sectors, Arvind Sharma, Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas &amp; Co said. The timing of launch of the commercial mining is critical since the reserves must be utilised to build the country before the focus shifts to entirely to renewable energy, he said. Stating that launch of auction process for commercial coal mining was a transformative reform in the energy sector, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas Partner Ramanuj Kumar pointed out that environmental concerns and delays are likely to result in muted interest from international investors. "We expect strong interest from domestic mining and power companies since bid terms are attractive as compared to other mineral auctions," Kumar said. Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran was of the view that with reforms like this, the mining sector can easily contribute 5 per cent to India's GDP. Commercial mining will be a very successful initiative and it will generate huge amount of growth, significantly reduce imports and create lots of jobs, he said. Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal also said that commercial mining will create infrastructure and people in the backward region will get employment. "The bold decision taken by the Prime Minister to open up coal sector will result in massive job creation and generate a lot of revenue as we can replace coal import worth Rs 80,000 crore every year," he said in a tweet. "This will also support the industry to bring down the cost. In these difficult times, it will be very useful for the growth of the country," he tweeted. The Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) said while India's coal demand is likely to increase in the next decade, the investment in green-field projects to expand production capacity must be examined more carefully. "Import dependence is not a bad thing, especially if it defers or removes investment needs into new mines in pristine environments in the country, CEEW Research Fellow Karthik Ganesan said. The government's attempt to promote coal-gasification is also puzzling, he said, adding that from a climate standpoint, it defeats India's efforts to rein in CO2 emissions. "Power generation and industrial applications that use syngas are 40 per cent - 80 per cent higher in CO2 emissions, as compared to those that use natural gas. Syngas is not cheap either. Data from the IEA suggests we might as well unlock deep-water gas instead of pursuing syngas, given the delivered price could be 4 – 6 USD/mmbtu higher than conventional gas. "Also, while the use of syngas reduces air pollution outcomes, as compared to burning coal, it comes with a significant risk of polluting underground water resources with phenols and aromatic compounds that are generated in-situ and that could migrate out of the generation wells," Ganesan said. In this auction process, 41 coal mines are on offer which includes fully explored and partially explored mines. These include 4 coking coal mines which are fully explored mines. These coal mines are located in states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha. The auction process will be a two-stage tender process with technical and financial bidding. SID NAM MR

'Commercial coal mining to stimulate economy; catalyse path toward USD 5 trn economy'

Mumbai, Feb 15 () Terming India as an "economic and social" global power, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on Saturday said the country's priority is to have joint expertise in various areas of the economy. A forum, organised by industry bodies, CII, ASSOCHAM and Ficci, was also attended by Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva, Secretary of State of Internationalisation of Portuguese Republic, Eurico Brilhante Dias, and Union Minister for Railways and Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, besides industry leaders from the two countries. "India is a global power. It's an economic global power, it is social global power. It is the largest democracy in the world. It is a trustable partner," Sousa said in his keynote address at the India-Portugal Business Forum here. "We are trustable. The evolution about the economy shows it," the President said. Stating that both India and Portugal know each other for a long time, Sousa said both Portugal and India are not just the European or Asian countries or cultures but they are "universal". "We like building bridges. We are very good at it," he said adding that be it in the area of culture, education, scientific or economic, the nations are good at buildings bridges. "For very long, we converged multilaterally, I mean established diplomatic relations," Sousa said. The President said the two countries work with the world, for the world be it for the peace, freedom, sustainable development or climate change. "The priority for us to have your expertise, our expertise, joint expertise as quickly. And this is the right time. First of all, India is a global power. It is an economic global power and is a social global power, it is the largest democracy in the world. He said the business community has a role to play in the economic bilateral because politicians create the framework. They open the way, they paved the way but they do not act in economics, in business every day." Such forums are helpful in finding out in which field India can benefit from Portuguese expertise or vice versa. He cited some of the industries and sectors such as tourism, renewable energies, ICT, environment, infrastructures, water, sanitation, public works, electrical mobility, construction and maritime transport, among others, as the some of the industries and sectors which had the potential for investment. "The priority for us (is) to have your expertise, our expertise, joint expertise as quickly," Sousa said. Addressing the forum, Goyal said both India and Portugal are focused on economic growth, investment, industry and innovation. The minister said that during his meeting with the Portuguese business delegation on Friday, he did discuss various sectors such as real estate and infrastructure development. In Goa, he suggested a government-to-government partnership to promote tourism and create the entire ecosystem around tourism. "I believe if we were to work together to create a mini-Portugal in Goa, we could truly make it a preferred destination for visitors from around the world," Goyal said. "I believe that it is an area which I hope during the your (President Sousa) visit to Goa, we can discuss with the government there," he said. He said the Indian government is keen to expand its relationship with Portugal, he said. "Also, as we look forward to expanding our relations with the European Union and as you assume the presidency of the EU in 2021, we do hope to see a great impetus in the EU-India ties under your presidency," Goyal said. India has a number of opportunities to work together in several areas, he said adding that "the automobile sector is flourishing both in your country and in India. And, I am sure we can partner to look at electric mobility going forward to contribute to sustainability and the environment. There is a good potential for infrastructure and the construction industry". He also said it has been decided to hold the next session of the India-Portugal Joint Economic Committee in India soon to review the gamut of the bilateral trade and economic relations. IAS HRS

Need India-Portugal joint expertise in various areas of economy: Portuguese President

To make coal sector an investment-friendly sector, the Government has formed an inter-ministerial committee (IMC); it will comprise of representatives from different ministries and key departments. 
	 
	“The committee will function under the chairmanship of Additional Secretary (Coal) and will have members from Ministry of Power, Ministry of Steel, Department of Industrial Policy &amp; Promotion, Department of Economic Affairs and Department of Legal Affairs,” said Piyush Goyal, Minister of state for Power, Coal &amp; New and Renewable Energy in a reply in Rajya Sabha. 
	 
	The committee will be responsible for policy issues regarding the allocation of 204 coal blocks as well as will make suggestions on issues referred to the central government. 
	 
	“To interact with the industry stakeholders, industry bodies such as FICCI, CII, ASSOCHAM, Coal Producer Association, Steel Manufacturer Association, Cement Producers Association etc. in order to ascertain their views on the procedure and methodology of auction of coal block. Any other issue referred by the Ministry of Coal in connection with coal block allocation,” added Goyal.

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