30-Dec-2022: Ministry of Rural Development launches Prajjwala Challenge inviting ideas, solutions and actions to transform rural economy

With an aim to invite ideas, solutions and actions that can transform rural economy, the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) has launched the Prajjwala Challenge. It is one of the platforms where ideas are invited from individuals, Social Enterprises, Start up, Private Sector, Civil Society, Community Based Organization, Academic Institution, Start-ups, Incubation centres, Investors etc. having potential to transform the rural economy.

The Prajjwala Challenge was launched by Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, Shri. Shailesh Kumar Singh in New Delhi yesterday. The Mission is looking for ideas and solutions around Innovative Technology Solution, Inclusive Growth, Value Chain Interventions, Enhanced Women Entrepreneurship, Cost effective Solutions, Sustainability, place-based employment, localised models etc. The broad contours fall into following categories:

Focus on Women and Marginalized section of community

  1. Localised Models
  2. Sustainability
  3. Cost Effective solutions
  4. Multi sectoral ideas and solutions etc.

Applications are open from 29th December, 2022 to 31st January, 2023. Shortlisted ideas will be acknowledged by the Mission and will be provided mentorship support from an expert panel and incubation support to scale up. The top 5 ideas will be rewarded with Rs. 2 Lakh each. Applicants can visit the website www.prajjwalachallenge.com and apply.

DAY-NRLM is one of the flagship poverty alleviation programs of the Ministry of Rural Development, which aims at creating efficient and effective institutional platforms of the rural poor, enabling them to increase household income through sustainable livelihoods enhancements and improved access to financial services. The mission focuses for livelihood augmentation through:

The Mission so far has mobilised more than 87 Million women in to the Self Hep Groups and their federations. While much headway has been made in mobilization of women and financial inclusion, deepening, enhancing and expanding Livelihoods intervention ensuring sustainable income is one of the focus of Mission. This requires creating facilitative ecosystem for multiple stakeholders like Government, Civil Society, Community Based Organisation, Industry, Academia, Private Sector, Start Ups etc. to come together and work in collaboration with each other for transforming the rural economy and creating life advancement opportunities in Rural India for socio economic prosperity.

Prajjwala Challenge launch ceremony was attended by Shri Charanjit Singh, Additional Secretary (RL), senior officers of the Ministry, key State Mission Directors of State Rural Livelihoods Missions, Start-ups, incubators and NGO representatives.

The Prajjwala Challenge will also be shared in the Manthan portal by the office of Principal Scientific Advisor and in the BIMTECH- Atal Innovation Mission Portal for reaching out to larger number of applicants.

12-May-2022: Collaboration between MoRD and Amazon for online marketing of SHG products through MoU Signing and Exchange

An MoU between Ministry of Rural Development and Amazon Seller Services Private Limited (Amazon) was signed at Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi today in presence of Shri Giriraj Singh - Union Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department and Shri Nagandra Nath Sinha, Secretary- Rural Development.

The following members signed and exchanged the MoU:

  • Sh. Charanjit Singh, Joint Secretary-RL-1, Ministry of Rural Development
  • Sh. Sumit Sahay - Director, IN Marketplace Business, Amazon Seller Services Private Limited

During the course of signing of MoU, Union Minister Shri Giriraj Singh stressed on translating the MoU between MoRD and Amazon to achieve sales on the platform and ensuring that the maximum number of women artisans become 'lakhpati'. He also suggested that both Amazon and MoRD should identify the challenges with the existing products, their packaging and branding.  The Minister also said that the MoU between MoRD and Amazon is a first step and should be followed by regular monitoring of the engagement to ensure results that are envisaged in the MoU.

It is envisaged that this alliance will enable SHG entrepreneurs under NRLM to offer their products to the buyers across India through Amazon Saheli Storefront and help SHG women achieve good price for their varied products.

To further facilitate the marketing of SHGs products, NRLM is creating alliance with Amazon Saheli and both the entities signed a non-Financial MoU to offer SHG women the Storefront of Amazon Saheli.  This will open new platform for making SHG products available to all Indian buyers at Amazon.

Following are the salient features of the MoU signed today for supporting the SHG products selling through Amazon Saheli Store front platform:

  • Amazon & MoRD will jointly enable Commercial and social development of women led rural enterprises across identified States/UTs
  • Amazon will provide Training & Onboarding support to MoRD appointed sellers to list products from Self Help Groups (SHGs) associated with MoRD on Amazon.in
  • Amazon will offer Referral fee waiver, imaging & cataloging and account management support at launch to mitigate cold start for SHGs
  • Amazon will help market and promote products listed by SHGs through the Saheli Storefront, Social media, Events and Onsite merchandising
  • MoRD (through respective SRLM) will help identify and apprise GST verified sellers to sell on Amazon.in, and assist the sellers in securing GST, PAN etc.
  • MoRD & Amazon will conduct joint workshops for awareness creation and assist the sellers in listing their products and to unlock growth levers to grow their business on Amazon.in

DAY-NRLM has taken a number of steps to support SHGs in accessing markets for their products. There have been efforts by States/UT's also in getting SHGs products registered on e-commerce platforms. e.g., Flipkart, Amazon and Meesho etc. This includes dedicated web-portals managed by some of the States. The potential e-commerce platforms have been explored and specific provision such as “the Saras Collection” has been created at Government e-Marketplace (GeM) for NRLM SHGs to on-board their curated products.  As on April 30, 2022, a total of 1088 products have been uploaded at GeM by 455 SHGs/ SHG members. Similarly, there are 445 products from 114 SHG sellers on boarded on Flipkart representing 14 States.

13-Mar-2022: Ministry of Rural Development organizes ‘Gender Samvaad’

Over 3000 State Mission staff and Self-Help Group (SHG) members logged in from 34 states to attend the third edition of ‘Gender Samvaad’ organised by the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), Ministry of Rural Development on the 11th of March 2022. It is a national virtual initiative under the DAY-NRLM to generate greater awareness on the mission’s interventions across the country with a gender lens. The Gender Samvaad is organized in collaboration with the Initiative for What Works to Advance Women and Girls in the Economy (IWWAGE). The third Gender Samvaad was supported by PCI and Roshni Centre. The theme for this edition was ‘Promotion of food and nutrition security through women’s collectives’. The event was organized as a part of Ministry’s Iconic Week celebration theme ‘Naye Bharat ki Naari’ under Amrit Mahotsava.

The event enabled National and State Rural Livelihoods Missions (SRLM) to listen to voices from SHG women and for SRLMs to share and learn from best practices. Addressing the online gathering, Shri Nagendra Nath Sinha, Secretary, MoRD highlighted the potential of women collectives to support behaviour change and access to services. “SHG women across the country played an important role in raising awareness on COVID-19 amongst over 5.5 crore rural households,” he said.

Smt. Nita Kejriwal, Joint Secretary, MoRD shared the Ministry’s perspective and initiatives on interventions related to Food, Nutrition, Health and WASH (FNHW). “SHGs under the DAY-NRLM are working on multiple interventions to fight malnutrition including income enhancement of rural households, improving productivity, and diversification of nutrient rich food crops and social and behaviour change communication (SBCC) among SHG members,” she said.

Dr Vinod Kumar Paul, Member, NITI Aayog, highlighting the ways in which SHGs can work with specific target groups across the life cycle said “SHG women can promote behaviour change, counsel women on care of low-birth weight babies, promote girl’s education, healthy diets, consumption of micronutrients, marriage at the right age, as well as spacing between pregnancies.” He also explained the concepts of malnutrition and infant and young child feeding and care practices effectively.

Shri Dhrijesh Tiwari, Statistical Advisor, Ministry of Women and Child Development spoke about the various initiatives undertaken by the Ministry for women and child nutrition. Smt. Meeta Rajivlochan, Member Secretary, National Commission for Women focussed on women nutrition issues and highlighted their rights and entitlements in this regard. Dr. Kalyani Raghunathan, IFPRI presented the findings of studies conducted on impact of related food and nutrition interventions through women collectives.

The State Mission Directors and Community Resource Persons from SRLMs of Bihar, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh made presentations on how they aim to integrate FNHW activities into the regular activities taken up by SHGs under DAY-NRLM. CEO, Bihar SRLM shared about SBCC approaches and promotion of nutrition-sensitive agriculture to supplement and diversify food groups available at home. CEO, Maharashtra SRLM presented their work on promotion of nutrition security through nutri-based enterprises and campaigns on nutri-gardens, while CEO, Chhattisgarh SRLM shared their learnings and experience of discussions in group meetings and engaging male members along with women for maternal nutrition interventions.

15-Dec-2021: Strategy for Poverty Alleviation in Rural Areas

Multi-pronged strategies are being taken by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) to address rural poverty and improve the economic well-being of the people in rural areas with the main focus on increasing livelihood opportunities, empowering rural women, providing social safety net, skilling of rural youth, infrastructure development, increasing land productivity etc. through programmes of Department of Rural Development, viz., Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), Deen Dayal Upadhyay – Gramin Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin (PMAY-G), Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), Shyama Prasad Mukherjee National Rurban Mission (SPMRM) and National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), and programmes of Department of Land Resources, viz., Watershed Development Component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (WDC-PMKSY).

MoRD accords emphasis on proper implementation of all its rural development schemes. In order to ensure that the programme benefits reach the rural poor, the Ministry has evolved a comprehensive multi-level and multi-format system of monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of rural development programmes, including Performance Review Committee Meetings, District Development Co-ordination and Monitoring Committee (“DISHA”) meetings, National Level Monitors (NLMs), Area Officers Schemes, Common Review Mission, Concurrent Evaluation and Impact Assessment Studies. Social Audits are also conducted by some schemes like Mahatma Gandhi NREGS and PMAY-G. Third-Party evaluation of the schemes is also carried out regularly and actions, as appropriate, are taken on the findings. In addition to above, steps have also been taken to strengthen transparency and accountability using transaction based IT systems for MIS which include geo-tagging of assets, Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), National electronic Fund Management System (Ne-FMS), Aadhaar Based Payment System (ABPS), Software for Estimate Calculation using Rural rates for Employment (SECURE) and establishment of independent social audit units and appointment of Ombudsman. State specific reviews of States/UTs are also undertaken from time to time. Further, the Ministry monitors the disposal of public grievances as well as reports in media on the status of implementation of schemes.

20-Dec-2022: Promotion of FPIs

The Ministry of Food Processing (MoFPI), is implementing a Central Sector Scheme- “Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry (PLISFPI)” with an outlay of Rs. 10,900 crores over a six-year period from 2021-22 to 2026-27. The scheme, inter alia, helps create of global food manufacturing champions commensurate with India’s natural resource endowment and supports Indian brands of food products in the international markets.

The export of agri-food products (ITC Chapters 2-23 excluding 5,6,14) has increased from US$ 29.67 billion in 2015-16 to US$ 46.11 billion in 2021-22 showing a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.62% and the export of value added processed-food products (ITC Chapter 16-23) increased from US$ 4.855 billion in 2015-16 to US$ 10.420 billion in 2021-22 showing a CAGR of 13.57%.

In order to ensure overall development of Food Processing sectors across the country, MoFPI has been implementing Central Sector Umbrella Scheme – Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY), centrally sponsored PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme (PMFME) and Central Sector Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLISFPI). Under component schemes of PMKSY, MoFPI provides mostly credit linked financial assistance (capital subsidy) in the form of grants in-aid for setting up of food processing industries/ units/ projects. Ministry provides financial, technical and business support for setting up/upgradation of micro food processing enterprises through PMFME scheme, whereas, PLISFPI is targeted to facilitate expansion of food processing capacity by creating champion brands in Food Processing Sector.

17-Nov-2021: Ministry of Food Processing Industries Signs MoU with Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD), Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying to extend the benefits to beneficiaries of various schemes of MoFPI and DAHD. The MoU was signed in the august presence of Sh. Pasupathi Kumar Paras, Hon’ble Union Minister, FPI, Sh. Parshottam Rupala, Hon’ble Union Minister, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Sh. Prahlad Singh Patel, Hon’ble Minister of State, FPI, Sh. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan, Hon’ble Minister of State, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Dr. L. Murugan, Hon’ble Minister of State, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Secretary MoFPI, and Secretary DAHD.

The objective of schemes of MoFPI and DAHD are interlinked and complementary in nature. Hence, the MoU will facilitate MoFPI and DAHD to work together to achieve the goal for income generation,  sustainable development of the rural poor through the extension of benefits of various schemes to the beneficiaries whenever they require financial assistance for establishment/ extension/ strengthening of quality control, dairy processing and its value addition, meat processing, and value addition infrastructure, animal feed plant and technology assisted breed improvement farms without any limitation.

The MoU will corroborate both MoFPI and DAHD to facilitate the beneficiaries to avail the benefits under the PM Kisan Sampada Yojana and PM Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises Scheme of the MoFPI and dairy development schemes of DAHD. This will not only empower the beneficiaries of MoFPI and DAHD but also create awareness through their respective implementation support team on the benefits of various schemes being implemented by them at both the Central and State level.

The convergence between MoFPI and DAHD will also encourage beneficiaries to avail benefits with facilitation for various activities which include Food Safety and Quality Assurance, dairy processing and value addition, meat processing & value addition, and animal feed, etc.

10-Aug-2021: FPI Schemes for Rural Areas

The Ministry of Food Processing industries (MoFPI) has been implementing Central Sector Umbrella Scheme - Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY) since 2016-17 for overall growth and development of food processing sector, including processing of agro- products and thus increasing the income of the farmers. The component schemes of PMKSY are - (i) Mega Food Park, (ii) Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure, (iii) Creation /Expansion of Food Processing & Preservation Capacities, (iv) Infrastructure for Agro-Processing Clusters, (v) Creation of Backward & Forward linkages, (vi) Food Safety and Quality Assurance Infrastructure, (vii) Human Resource and Institutions, (viii) Operation Greens. Under component schemes of PMKSY, MoFPI provides mostly credit linked financial assistance (capital subsidy) in the form of grants-in-aid to entrepreneurs for setting up of food processing / preservation industries. PMKSY is not region or state specific but demand driven and is implemented across the country including the rural areas of Tamil Nadu. So far, Ministry has approved 41 Mega food Parks, 353 Cold Chain projects, 63 Agro Processing Clusters, 292 Food Processing Units, 63 Creation of Backward & Forward Linkages Projects & 6 Operation Green projects across the country under corresponding component schemes of PMKSY. Out of these, Ministry has approved 1 Mega Food Park project, 17 Cold Chain projects, 10 Agro Processing Clusters, 22Food Processing Units, 9 Creation of Backward & Forward Linkages Projects & 20 Food Test Laboratory projects in Tamil Nadu under corresponding component schemes of PMKSY.

The sanctioned projects across the country under component schemes of PMKSY are estimated to benefit about 34 lakh famers on completion. In the evaluation study of Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure Scheme conducted by M/s NABARD Consultancy Limited (NABCONS) in Year 2020, it has been estimated that captive projects under the scheme have resulted in increase in farm-gate prices by 12.38 % and each project is estimated to benefit more than 9500 farmers.

Also, as part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Initiative, MoFPI is implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme-PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme (PMFME) for providing financial, technical and business support for setting up/upgradation of 2 lakh micro food processing enterprises through credit linked subsidy during five years from 2020-21 to 2024-25 with an outlay of Rs.10,000 crore. Out of this, a total of 12128 units have been allocated to Tamil Nadu with tentative outlay of Rs 572.71 cr. for five years.

6-Aug-2021: Setting Up of Small-Scale Food Processing Units at Farm Level

Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) is implementing Central Sector umbrella scheme- Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) since 2016-17 for overall growth and development of food processing sector, including cereals, oilseeds, vegetables & fruits based processing industries. Under its component schemes, MoFPI provides credit linked financial assistance (capital subsidy) in the form of grants-in-aid to entrepreneurs for setting up of food processing / preservation industries with farm level infrastructure like primary processing facilities, collection centers etc. So far, a total of 292 Food Processing Units have been approved for assistance under component scheme Creation/Expansion of Food Processing & Preservation Capacities. Also, a total of 124Primary Processing Centres with Dry Warehouse capacity of 116450 MT, Cold Storage capacity of 56520 MT and deep freezer capacity of 1750 MT have been approved as part of Mega Food Park projects.

The Government has announced expansion of scope of “Operation Greens Scheme” from Tomato, Onion & Potato (TOP) to 22 perishable products, in the budget speech for 2021-2022, so as to boost value addition in these perishables. Ministry has identified these 22 perishables, which include Mango, Banana, Apple, Pineapple, Carrot, Cauliflower, Beans etc.

31-Dec-2020: Ministry of Food Processing Industries - Year End Review 2020

Ministry of Food Processing Industries has taken numerous initiatives for development of food processing sector. Some of the major achievements and initiatives are as below:

Creation of Infrastructure Facilities

  • A total of 46 food processing projects were completed/operationalised viz; Mega Food Park:3, Cold Chain:15, Unit:21, Food Testing Laboratories:7
  • The 46 completed projects created additional processing and preservation capacity of agricultural produce of 31.52 lakh MT per annum. 15 cold chain infrastructure projects created additional milk processing and storage capacityof56.99 (lakh litre per day) and 11.80 MT/hour of IQF (Instant Quick Freezing) of fruits and vegetables.
  • The 46 completed projects leveraged private investment of Rs. 771.79 crore and generated direct and indirect employment for 24567persons.

Approval of New Infrastructure Facilities

  • A total of 134 food processing projects were sanctioned viz; Agro Processing Clusters: 21, Cold Chain:47, Unit:43, Backward and Forward Linkages:8, Operation Greens:3 and Food Testing Laboratories:12.
  • The 134 new food processing and food testing laboratory projects sanctioned will create additional processing and preservation capacity of agricultural produce of 38.3 lakh MT per annum. The 47 cold chain infrastructure projects will create additional milk processing and storage capacity of 13.10 LLPD (lakh litre per day) and 34.20 MT/hour of IQF (Instant Quick Freezing) of fruits and vegetables.
  • The new 134 sanctioned projects are expected to leverage private investment of Rs. 2026.32 crore and generated direct and indirect employment for 77330 persons.

COVID-19 initiatives and Grievances Redressal

  • Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has been taking several initiatives for maintaining steady growth of food processing sector. Alike many sectors, food processing sector also went through several hitches during the lockdown. Critical issues such as reduction in processing capacity due to plant shutdowns, disruption in logistics and movement of workers, labor availability at manufacturing sites as well as steep drop in demand, liquidity crunch impacted the sector.
  • At the very moment of announcement of lockdown, MoFPI through its dedicated task force, adopted a proactive approach and facilitated timely redressal of issues being faced by the food and allied industry.
  • Maintaining uninterrupted supply chain and availability of food to the entire country, has been one of the most crucial tasks of this ministry.
  • The ministry established a Grievance Cell and a Task Force which ensured business continuity by facilitating hundreds of units in resuming their operations.
  • Resolved 585 issues during the COVID lockdown period.
  • Connected with 363 leading processing companies in all states / UTs to understand the capacity utilization of these companies and support required to ramp up the production.
  • 7 video conferences were organized with industry associations, leading processors, exporters, FPOs, retailers and other stakeholders to assess the situation at the ground level as well as to gauge the industry requirements in the post lockdown era ― industry recommendations were thoroughly observed to provide maximum benefits to this sector under AatmaNirbhar Bharat packages.

AatmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan

Ministry of Food Processing Industries launched an all India centrally sponsored PM Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme for providing financial, technical and business support for upgradation of existing micro food processing enterprises. It is to be implemented for a period of five years from 2020-21 to 2024-25 with an outlay of Rs. 10,000 crores.

  • The scheme was approved by the Cabinet on 20th May 2020 and the guidelines were issued on 19th June 2020. The Scheme was launched by the Hon’ble Minister & MoS, FPI on 29th June 2020.
  • The GIS ODOP digital map of India was launched by the Hon'ble Minster & MoS, FPI on 19th November 2020 through VC. The map provides details of ODOP products of all the States and UTs. The digital map also has indicators for Tribal, SC, ST, and aspirational districts. It will enable stakeholders to make concerted efforts for its value chain development.
  • 554 ODOP of 24 States and UTs have been approved till date.

Capacity Building & Training

  • Training of Master Trainers for Fruits & Vegetable Processing and EDP inaugurated by the Hon'ble Minster &MoS, FPI on 19th November 2020 through VC.
  • 22 DPRs, 99 Audio Video tutorials and Power Point Presentations have been prepared and uploaded by NIFTEM & IIFPT on food processing by micro industries.

MoUs, Joint Letter, and Agreement

  • Joint Letter with the Ministry of Rural Development signed on 20th November, 2020 for identification and data collection of eligible SHGs, training and capacity building of beneficiaries,  leveraging capacity of DAY-NRLM, handholding support to beneficiaries to avail the seed capital and capital subsidy and marketing & branding of produces of beneficiaries.
  • Joint Letter with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs signed on 18th December 2020 for marketing support to TRIFOOD products, building the capacity of its state, district and field-level staff for supporting and handholding identified beneficiaries under the PMFME Scheme.
  • An MoU signed with the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India on 18th December 2020 for the development of a new brand ‘NAFED Food’ for the marketing and development of Agricultural food products made by FPOs/SHGs/Co-operatives groups.
  • An MoU with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research signed on 18th December 2020 for the facilitation of details of food processing technologies, packaging and machinery developed at various institutes of ICAR, particularly suitable to Micro-enterprises, FPOs, SHGs & Cooperatives under the PMFME Scheme.
  • An MoU with the National Cooperative Development Corporation signed on 18th December 2020 for support to Cooperatives engaged in food processing activities in the country in various States and UTs under the PMFME Scheme.
  • An MoU with the National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation on 18th December 2020 for capacity building, research, training and development support to individual enterprises /SHGs/FPOs owned by SC beneficiaries involved in food processing under the PMFME Scheme.
  • An MoU with Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India signed on 18th December 2020 for the development of a new brand ‘TriFood’ for food products made by tribals& undertake efforts for its marketing, appropriate packaging, product development, etc. for tribal food products under the PMFME Scheme.
  • An Agreement signed with Union Bank as a Nodal Bank  on 18th December 2020 for transfer of subsidy amount, monitoring and liaising with lending banks for target driven approvals of applications & timely disbursal of subsidies to beneficiaries.

Project Implementation Plan: Project Implementation Plans of seven States and UTs have been approved.

State Level Technical Institutions: State Level Technical Institutions of 28 states and UTs have been approved.

Financial Progress

  • Rs. 93.83 crore released to 35States/UTs.
  • Rs. 10 crore allocated to NIFTEM and IIFPT.
  • Operation Green scheme extended from tomato, onion and potato(TOP)crops to a total of 41 notified horticulture crops for a period of six months for providing subsidy for their transportation and storage, if prices fall below the average prices for last three years or 15% below of previous year’s price.
    1. Scheme was notifiedon11.06.2020andamendedon24.07.2020&12.10.2020.
    2. 21 fruits and 20 vegetable crops are notified for receiving subsidy under the Scheme. List of eligible crops, surplus production clusters & trigger price is available on Ministry’s website.
    3. Online portal to process claims for subsidy was setup.
  • 3,195 applicants have registered from 30 States/UT on the portal till 24thDec.;
  • 49 online claims for total subsidy have been received for Onion, Carrot, and Banana. Of these, 12 claims are sanctioned for ₹94.14 Lakh for transportation of 5,268 MT of Onion and 545 MT of Banana and storage of 1,225 MT of Carrot;
  • Transportation subsidy under the scheme was extended to Kisan Rail Scheme w.e.f. 12.10.2020. Indian Railway is providing the transport subsidy directly to any applicants by way of charging 50% of their freight charges from them for transportation of any quantity of notified F&V through Kisan Rail Scheme and will adjust remaining 50% of freight from deposit made by MoFPI with them. ₹ 10 cr was sanctioned to Indian Railway (South Central Railway) on 23.10.2020. Recently, Ministry allowed transport subsidy on any F&V through any rail service provided by Indian Railway.
  • Scheme guidelines amended to provide the transportation subsidy to all the notified F&V being transported by air from the NER and Himalayan Region States. Airlines would charge 50% freight for all the fruits and vegetables booked from these airports on the same lines as Kisan Rail.
  • Scheme Guidelines further amended to provide 50% subsidy to eligible entities through NAFED for transportation and/or storage of apple from Jammu and Kashmir. Rs. 10 Cr as advance has been released to NAFED for this.

Promotional Activities

  • A women-centric three-day Organic Food Festival was organized in New Delhi from 21st-23rd February 2020 with an aim to provide opportunity to women entrepreneurs for capacity building & economic empowerment. In addition, 20 B2B interactions with UAE based LULU Group was also organized during the food festival.
  • On the occasion of 74th Independence Day of India, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries launched a monthly awareness campaign called United by Food on social media, describing about the well-known dishes and processed foods of various States and Union Territories of the country.
  • In the month of September, the Ministry launched a campaign along with Nutrition Month campaign of Ministry of Women and Child Welfare, namely, 'Processed Yani Paushtik'.
  • Image In October, the Ministry launched a social media campaign called “ Ann Devon Bhava” aimed at providing people with information about processed food as well  as traditional food. In this campaign, online quiz competition was also organized by the Ministry with prizes of aboutRs.1,10,000/-.
  • Ministry used various posts on precautions to be taken during festive season on its social media to spread awareness about Covid-19 amongst  people. Many posters and banners related to  precautions of Corona were put up at various places of the office premises.

Investment Promotion

  • A Project Development Cell at the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) was constituted on 17thJune 2020 with the prime objective of accelerating investments. The PDC has been―
    • Interacting with Individual State / UT Governments for discussion on developing of potential investible projects, company specific issues, creating awareness of benefits under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana etc.
    • Having one-on-one discussion with agri-food companies to facilitate their investment interests or issues.
    • Handholding and facilitating Government of Ladakh with setting up of Agro- Processing Cluster (APC) in the UT.

Institutions

NIFTEM

  1. NIFTEM Technology Innovation and Business Incubation Foundation (NTIBIF) and Contract Research Organization have been established to take care of the startups in food technology ecosystem and collaborative research with Industry Partners.
  2. A robust automated examination system has been established to provide end to end solutions with regard to students’ registration, setting up of question papers, online evaluation, semester wise results declaration and generation of final grade reports.
  3. NIFTEM Food testing Lab (CFRA) is awarded integrated accreditation system for analyzing more than 2200 quality parameters.

IIFPT

  1. Technologies and Indigenous Equipment Developed by IIFPT
    • Indigenous food 3D printers (both single and multi-heads). Food 3D printing technology can offer enhanced levels of product customization in terms of appearance as well as nutritional value.
    • Integrated collection and filtration unit for coconut water. This can be used in temples and other places of devotion; the water is collected hygienically.
    • Non-thermal (cold) plasma treatment unit for liquid food sterilization was developed and tested for decontamination of milk.
    • Multi-enzyme based amperometry biosensor was developed for testing thermal oxidation of coconut oil. This can be used for quality evaluation of oils.
  2. Five Technologies have been Transferred to Industries
    • Mobile food processing unit
    • Integrated onion processing unit
    • Puffing machine for rice &millets
    • Moringa leaves separator
    • Solar hybrid dryer
  3. New Facilities Created for Research, Training, and Consultancy Services
    • India’s first food glycemic index and food disintegration kinetics testing facility. The centre uses Asia’s first engineered human digestive system. The facility holds significant research and commercial interest for new food product developments.
    • Pilot-scale ice cream plant 100 L/batch capacity.
    • Fruit beverages (carbonated and non-carbonated) processing pilot plant with100 L/h capacity (MSME funded).
    • Pilot scale spray dryer with 3 kg/h capacity.
    • Virgin coconut oil plant with 1000 nuts/day capacity (Coconut Development Board funded).
  4. Students and Academic Excellence
    • 100% student placements in major food processing industries including Nestle, ITC, MTR, Cavinkare, Britannia, Aachietc.
  5. Capacity Building under PM-FME Scheme
    • Under the MoFPI, IIFPT is serving as the nodal national-level technical institutes for the centrally sponsored, Prime Minister Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PM FME) for capacity building and incubation.
    • IIFPT has prepared the training syllabus for the different levels of PMFME trainings as Training of Master Trainers (ToMT), Training of Trainers (ToT) at District level and Training of Beneficiaries (ToB) to impart skills on various aspects of processing including ODOP.
    • IIFPT has coordinated with various national level technical institutes and compiled indicative cost norms guidelines hand book for establishment of common incubation facility under PMFME scheme.
  6. COVID-19 Relief Activities
    • IIFPT supported District Administration and Thanjavur Medical College in COVID-19 related activities by providing healthy foods prepared at IIFPT’s Food Processing Business Incubation Centre. The initiative kicked off on 21stApril, 2020 and went on up to August 2020.
    • Hand sanitizers were prepared for the police department and COVID warriors, and were supplied on a regular basis.
    • RT-PCR instrument was handed over to the Thanjavur Medical College & Hospital for COVID testing purposes from April 2020 to August 2020. More than 2 lakhs samples have been tested using the instrument.

20-Dec-2022: Major steps by Government to scale-up rooftop solar capacity in the country

Major steps taken to scale-up rooftop solar in the country, inter-alia, include:

  • Launch of Rooftop Solar Programme Ph-II with CFA for residential sector and incentives in slabs for the DISCOMs for achievement of additional RTS capacity in a year over and above the installed RTS capacity of the previous year.
  • Launch of National Portal where residential consumers from any part of the country can apply for installation of rooftop solar and get subsidy directly into his bank account under the Programme.
  • Development of online portals at DISCOM level and aggregation of demand relating to RTS projects.
  • Preparation of model MoU, PPA and Capex Agreement for expeditious implementation of RTS projects in Government Sector.
  • Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020 has been issued for net-metering up to five hundred Kilowatt or upto the electrical sanctioned load, whichever is lower.
  • Online portal developed for expediting project approval, report submission and monitoring progress of implementation of RTS projects.
  • Facilitation of concessional loans from multilateral agencies such as the World Bank.
  • Renewable energy included under priority sector lending guidelines of RBI.
  • Declaration of trajectory of renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) upto year 2030
  • Quality standards for deployment of solar photovoltaic system/ devises notified.
  • Innovative business models for RTS prescribed.
  • Information and public awareness activities through various mediums.

20-Dec-2022: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy signs a strategic sector cooperation agreement and letter of intent with Denmark to explore the sources of wind energy

A Strategic Sector Cooperation agreement and a letter of intent between the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and the Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Climate of the Kingdom of Denmark were signed on 06.03.2019. The cooperation agreement envisages achieving the following :-

  1. Technical capacity building for management of off-shore wind project
  2. Measures to develop and sustain a highly efficient wind industry, onshore as well as offshore
  3. Measures to ensure high quality of wind turbines, components, and certification requirements
  4. Forecasting and scheduling of off-shore wind
  5. Any other area as may be mutually agreed upon

The letter of intent intended to establish a Centre of Excellence for Integrated Renewable Power in India inter alia focusing on Renewable energy resource assessment with focus on onshore and offshore wind, and Hybridisation of wind, solar, hydro, storage.

Government has taken several steps to promote renewable energy, including wind energy, in the country, including in the state of Gujarat. These, inter alia, include;

  • permitting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) up to 100 percent under the automatic route,
  • waiver of Inter State Transmission System (ISTS) charges for inter-State sale of solar and wind power for projects to be commissioned by 30th June 2025,
  • declaration of trajectory for Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) up to the year 2030,
  • setting up of Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Parks to provide land and transmission to RE developers on a plug and play basis,
  • laying of new transmission lines and creating new sub-station capacity for evacuation of renewable power,
  • setting up of Project Development Cell for attracting and facilitating investments,
  • Standard Bidding Guidelines for tariff based competitive bidding process for procurement of Power from Grid Connected Solar PV and Wind Projects,
  • Government has issued orders that power shall be dispatched against Letter of Credit (LC) or advance payment to ensure timely payment by distribution licensees to RE generators,
  • Notification of Promoting Renewable Energy through Green Energy Open Access Rules 2022,
  • Notification of Late Payment Surcharge and related matters Rules 2022.

In addition to the above, the following steps have, inter alia, been taken specifically for promoting wind energy:

  • declaration of trajectory for Wind Renewable Purchase Obligation (Wind RPO) up to the year 2030,
  • Concessional custom duty exemption on certain components required for manufacturing of wind electric generators,
  • Generation Based Incentive (GBI) is being provided to the wind projects commissioned on or before 31 March 2017,
  • Technical support including wind resource assessment and identification of potential sites through the National Institute of Wind Energy, Chennai.

20-Dec-2022: Government takes several initiatives to promote and create new markets in renewable energy sector

Government have taken several initiatives to for promotion and creation of new markets in the renewable energy sector. These include :

  • Permitting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) up to 100 percent under the automatic route,
  • Waiver of Inter State Transmission System (ISTS) charges for inter-state sale of solar and wind power for projects to be commissioned by 30th June 2025,
  • Declaration of trajectory for Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) up to the year 2029-30,
  • Setting up of Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Parks to provide land and transmission to RE developers on a plug and play basis,
  • Schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM- KUSUM), Solar Rooftop Phase II, 12000 MW CPSU Scheme Phase II, etc.,
  • Laying of new transmission lines and creating new sub-station capacity under the Green Energy Corridor Scheme for evacuation of renewable power,
  • Setting up of Project Development Cell for attracting and facilitating investments,
  • Standard Bidding Guidelines for tariff based competitive bidding process for procurement of Power from Grid Connected Solar PV and Wind Projects.
  • Government has issued orders that power shall be dispatched against Letter of Credit (LC) or advance payment to ensure timely payment by distribution licensees to RE generators.
  • Implementation of Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for solar PV manufacturers for Rs. 24,000 crores.
  • Imposing Basic Customs Duty on cells and modules to encourage domestic manufacturing
  • Notified the National Bioenergy Energy Programme with an outlay of Rs 858 Cr under Phase I to promote waste to energy, biomass and biogas programmes
  • Promulgated the Green Open Access Rules to enable the commercial and industrial sector to generate/procure energy for their own consumption.

8-Dec-2022: Manufacturing of Solar Cells

The Government has taken a number of steps to incentivise the manufacturing of  solar cells domestically, namely:

  1. Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS) Scheme of Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology: The scheme mainly provides subsidy for capital expenditure i.e. 20% for investments in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and 25% in non-SEZs. The Scheme was open for applications till 31st December, 2018. The Scheme inter-alia covers solar PV cells, solar PV modules, EVA, backsheet and solar glass.
  2. Domestic Content Requirement (DCR): Under some of the current schemes of the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE), namely CPSU Scheme Phase-II, PM-KUSUM component B and Grid-connected Rooftop Solar Programme Phase-II, wherein government subsidy is given, it has been mandated to source solar PV cells and modules from domestic sources.
  3. Imposition of Basic Customs Duty on import of solar PV cells & modules: The Government has imposed Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on import of solar PV cells and modules with effect from 01.04.2022.
  4. Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for High Efficiency Solar PV Modules: The Government of India is implementing the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for National Programme on High Efficiency Solar PV Modules, for achieving domestic manufacturing capacity of Giga Watt (GW) scale in High Efficiency Solar PV modules and solar PV cells with outlay of Rs. 24,000 crore. This Scheme has provision for Production Linked Incentive (PLI) to the selected solar PV module manufacturers for five years post commissioning, on manufacture and sale of High Efficiency Solar PV modules.

31-Mar-2022: Schemes by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy for Waste to Energy Plants

The Ministry has been implementing following schemes:

  1. Scheme to Support Promotion of Biomass Based Cogeneration in Sugar Mills and Other industries in the Country;
  2. Programme on Energy from Urban, Industrial, Agricultural Wastes/Residues and Municipal Solid Waste (“Waste to Energy Programme”);
  3. New National Biogas and Organic Manure Programme(NNBOMP);
  4. Biogas based Power Generation (Off-Grid) and Thermal Energy Applications Programme (BPGTP).

29-Mar-2022: Steps by Government to incentivize domestic manufacturing of Renewable Energy systems

In order to incentivize domestic manufacturing of Renewable Energy systems, the Government has taken a number of steps, including:

Solar Energy:

  1. Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS) Scheme of Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology.
  2. Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for High Efficiency Solar PV Modules.
  3. Preference to ‘Make in India’ in Public Procurement in Renewable Energy Sector.
  4. Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) under schemes such as CPSU Phase-II, PM-KUSUM, Solar Rooftop Phase-II, etc.
  5. Imposition of Basic Customs Duty on import of solar PV cells & modules.
  6. Discontinuation of Customs Duty Concession benefits.

Wind Energy: Government have put in place a system of Revised List of Models and Manufacturers, and only equipment manufactured by manufacturers in the list is allowed to be used for Wind Energy Projects. It also mandates that Hub and Nacelle assembly / manufacturing facility shall be in India. More than 70 percent of the wind equipment is manufactured in India.

22-Mar-2022: Steps by Government to promote Renewable Energy

The Government has taken several steps to promote renewable energy, including wind energy, in the country. These include:

  • permitting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) up to 100 percent under the automatic route,
  • waiver of Inter State Transmission System (ISTS) charges for inter-state sale of solar and wind power for projects to be commissioned by 30th June 2025,
  • declaration of trajectory for Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) up to the year 2022,
  • setting up of Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Parks to provide land and transmission to RE developers on a plug and play basis,
  • laying of new transmission lines and creating new sub-station capacity for evacuation of renewable power,
  • setting up of Project Development Cell for attracting and facilitating investments,
  • Standard Bidding Guidelines for tariff based competitive bidding process for procurement of Power from Grid Connected Solar PV and Wind Projects.
  • Government has issued orders that power shall be dispatched against Letter of Credit (LC) or advance payment to ensure timely payment by distribution licensees to RE generators.
  • Conducting skill development programmes to create a pool of skilled manpower for implementation, operation and maintenance of RE projects.

In addition to the above, the following steps have been taken specifically for promoting wind energy:

  • Concessional custom duty exemption on certain components required for manufacturing of wind electric generators.
  • Generation Based Incentive (GBI) is being provided to the wind projects commissioned on or before 31 March 2017.
  • Technical support including wind resource assessment and identification of potential sites through the National Institute of Wind Energy, Chennai.

22-Mar-2022: Government incentivizes  local development and manufacturing of renewable energy technologies

The Government has taken a number of initiatives for incentivizing local development and manufacturing of renewable energy technologies, namely:

  1. Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS) Scheme of Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology: The scheme mainly provides subsidy for capital expenditure – 20% for investments in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and 25% in non-SEZs. The Scheme was open to receive applications till 31st December, 2018. The Scheme inter-alia covers solar PV cells, solar PV modules, EVA, backsheet and solar glass.
  2. Preference to ‘Make in India’ in Public Procurement in Renewable Energy Sector: Through implementation of ‘Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order’, procurement and use of domestically manufactured solar PV modules and domestically manufactured solar inverters has been mandated for Govt/ Govt. entities.
  3. Domestic Content Requirement (DCR): Under some of the current schemes of the MNRE, namely CPSU Scheme Phase-II, PM-KUSUM and Grid-connected Rooftop Solar Programme Phase-II, wherein government subsidy is given, it has been mandated to source solar PV cells and modules from domestic sources.
  4. Imposition of Basic Customs Duty on import of solar PV cells & modules: The Government has announced imposition of Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on import of solar PV cells and modules with effect from 01.04.2022.
  5. Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for High Efficiency Solar PV Modules: MNRE has issued the Scheme Guidelines for Production Linked Incentive Scheme ‘National Programme on High Efficiency Solar PV Modules’, with an outlay of Rs. 4,500 crores for supporting manufacturing of high efficiency solar PV modules by providing Production Linked Incentive (PLI) on sales of such solar PV modules. Letters of Award have been issued to the eligible successful bidders to the extent of funds allocated (i.e. the present scheme outlay of Rs. 4,500 crore). An additional outlay of Rs 19,500 crore has been announced in the Budget 2022- 23 on 1st February 2022.
  6. Incentives to domestic manufacturing in Wind sector: Government has put in place a system of Revised List of Models and Manufacturers, and only equipment manufactured by manufacturers in the list is allowed to be used for Wind Energy Projects. It also mandates that Hub and Nacelle assembly / manufacturing facility shall be in India. More than 70 percent of the equipment is manufactured in India.
  7. ‘Renewable Energy Research and Technology Development Programme’ of Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE): The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) supports a scheme “Renewable Energy Research and Technology Development Programme” through various research institutions and industry to enable indigenous technology development and manufacture of new and renewable energy in the country. MNRE encourages research and technology development proposals in collaboration with the industry and provides upto 100% financial support to Government/non-profit research organizations and upto 50-70% to Industry, Start-ups, Private Institutes, Entrepreneurs and Manufacturing units. An amount of Rs. 62.47 crore has been spent in the last three years for this scheme.

30-Nov-2021: Steps taken to promote renewable energy sources in the country

At present, the Government has set a target for achieving 175 GW of Renewable Energy capacity by the year 2022. A total of 150 GW renewable energy capacity (including large hydro) has been installed in the country till date. Further, projects of 63.64 GW capacity are under various stages of implementation and 32.06 GW capacity are under various stages of bidding. Therefore, a total of 245.70 GW capacity has either been installed or under various stages of implementation /bidding.

The Government has taken several steps to promote renewable energy sources in the Country. These include:-

  • Permitting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) up to 100 percent under the automatic route,
  • Waiver of Inter State Transmission System (ISTS) charges for inter-state sale of solar and wind power for projects to be commissioned by 30th June 2025,
  • Laying of new transmission lines and creating new sub-station capacity for evacuation of renewable power,
  • Declaration of trajectory for Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) up to the year 2022,
  • Setting up of RE parks to provide land and transmission to RE developers on a plug and play basis,
  • Schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PMKUSUM), Solar Rooftop Phase II, 12000 MW CPSU Scheme Phase II, etc.,
  • Notification of standards for deployment of solar photovoltaic system/devices,
  • Setting up of Project Development Cell for attracting and facilitating investments,
  • Standard Bidding Guidelines for tariff based competitive bidding for procurement of Power from Grid Connected Solar PV and Wind Projects.
  • Government has issued orders that power shall be dispatched against Letter of Credit (LC) or advance payment to ensure timely payment by distribution licensees to RE generators.
  • Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM) launched to facilitate procurement of RE power through power exchange in the country.

13-Oct-2021: Green Grids Initiative-One Sun One World One Grid Northwest Europe Cooperative Event

Union Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India, Shri R K Singh, addressed the Ministerial session of the Green Grids Initiative-One Sun One World One Grid Northwest Europe Cooperative Event. The event saw the participation of Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy of the United Kingdom, Rt. Hon. Kwasi Kwarteng, and the Minister of Energy of Belgium, Ms. Tinne Van der Straeten. Dr. Ajay Mathur, Director General of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and Dr. Junaid Ahmad, Country Director, World Bank India provided insights into the work that is being undertaken toward the initiative.

Shri Singh  affirmed India’s commitment to the environment and the cause of clean energy and energy transition, and highlighted India’s target of achieving 450 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2030. He underlined that India is well on its way to achieving its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) relating clean energy and emission reduction well ahead of the target date. Acknowledging the challenges presented by the intermittent nature of solar and wind energy sources, and by the high cost of energy storage, Mr. Singh presented the GGI-OSOWOG initiative as a possible solution for driving down the need for storage and in effect reduce the costs of the energy transition.

Secretary Kawsi Kwarteng stated that accelerating global power transition is a top priority for the UK as it leads the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) as its President. Mr. Kwaretng appreciated the innovative work that has been done by the ISA and India toward developing OSOWOG. Extending UK’s support behind the GGI-OSOWOG initiative, he emphasized the country’s intentions of strengthening international collaborations well beyond COP26.

Wilton Park, the executive agency of United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) hosted a two-day programme for a strategic discussion on the Green Grids Initiative-One Sun One World One Grid (GGI-OSOWOG). The event titled the Northwest Europe Cooperative Event saw a multi-layered dialogue between the One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG) initiative and the project in Northwest Europe for developing  cross-border trading of renewable electricity.

Minister Van Der Straeten of Belgium emphasized the need for action by political leaders and engagement from all countries big and small to invest in the energy of tomorrow. Ms. Van Der Straeten remarked that with the GGI-OSOWOG initiative, cost effective solar power could be delivered to Belgium all the way from India.

Director General of ISA, Dr. Mathur provided an insight on the work going on behind the scenes as GGI-OSOWOG is being transformed into a full-fledged project. Dr. Mathur mentioned that sustainable development and climate change mitigation are at the heart of the GGI-OSOWOG initiative, and that the scale of the project could very well make it the next biggest modern engineering marvel.

The idea for the One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG) initiative was put forth by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi, at the First Assembly of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) in October 2018. He had called for connecting solar energy supply across borders. In May 2021, the United Kingdom and India agreed to combine forces of the Green Grids Initiative and the One Sun One World One Grid initiative and jointly launch GGI-OSOWOG at the COP26 summit being hosted by the UK at Glasgow in November 2021.

8-Oct-2021: India set to achieve 450 GW renewable energy installed capacity by 2030: MNRE

Addressing the MNRE-FICCI – SECI event at Expo 2020 Dubai today, Shri R.K. Singh, Minister of Power, New and Renewable Energy, emphasized that the world is on the cusp of transformation, and immediate corrective steps are needed to mitigate climate change. He highlighted that energy transition needs to be the first step in this direction.

He said that India is already ahead of what we pledged in our Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) saying that, “Already 39% of our capacity is from non-fossil based sources. By 2022 we will reach our target of 40%.”

Highlighting that transmission is a challenge and getting it into place is a work in progress, he said, “We are launching the Green Corridor Phase 2 and we are generally expanding transmission to put in place renewable power evacuation systems from where irradiation is high, or wind speed is high.”

Shri Singh also said that intermittency of renewable power is another challenge for the entire world highlighting that battery storage per unit currently is high at USD 200 per Megawatt-hour and needs to come down.  “We are coming out with a huge bid of 1,000 Megawatt-hours by the end of this month of storage. We will come out with three more bids of 1,000 Megawatt-hours each and thereafter we are planning to come out with a bid for 13-14 Gigawatt-hour for Howrah”, he added. MNRE is also setting up a 10 Gigawatt RE capacity and is proposing to set up 14 Gigawatt-hour storage capacity in Ladakh.

There is a Production Linked Incentive for battery storage already in place and demand needs to be encouraged to bring down the prices of storage, Shri Singh added, and called on other developed countries to ramp up battery storage capacity to Gigawatt scale volumes to bring down prices.

Speaking on the opportunities for green hydrogen in India, Shri Singh said, “We are coming out with huge bids for electrolysers. Our first bid for hydrogen will require 8,800 Megawatt of electrolyser capacity. We are also putting mandates on green hydrogen for refining, fertilizer, piped natural gas.”

He also announced that, “We will first have a Production Linked Incentive for putting in electrolyser capacity in place and then we will come out with bids for green hydrogen.” “We also plan to put out bids for conversion of ships to run on green ammonia and fuel cell”, he added.

MNRE is coming out with a new policy on green tariff where the rules for green tariffs are being regularised and will open up free transmission for anyone that sets up green energy capacity with a future of prosumers where people generate and consume their own green energy.

Shri Singh also said that SECI has had promising growth and is expected to continue this momentum as new and emerging areas in the clean energy space are set for a boom and stated his vision of SECI becoming an energy conglomerate of the new world. India has embarked on an exciting journey and is treading where no one has ventured before, and SECI will continue to work towards meeting the ambition of 450 GW by 2030.

Shri Bhagwanth Khuba, Minister of State, New and Renewable Energy, Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India said on the first day of the event, that the energy sector is set to undergo a drastic transformation across the globe and the future belongs to the renewable energy. “This is going to be a collective effort and our energy transition will be inclusive and equitable so that no one is left behind. We welcome all our partners to come and invest in India and join us in this incredible journey,” he added.

He further said that in view of the 175 GW installed RE capacity by 2022 announced in 2015 by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India surpassed 100 GW milestone (excluding large hydro) in 2021. He also added that as of now India has only tapped a fraction of the vast potential for renewable energy and, therefore, India has raised the target to 450 GW RE installed capacity by 2030.

Inviting global stakeholders,  on day two of the events, Mr. Khuba reiterated the benefits of investing in India’s RE sector and highlighted that ensuring Ease of Doing Business has been India’s utmost priority. “We have established dedicated Project Development Cell (PDC) and FDI Cell in all ministries for handholding and facilitating domestic and foreign investors. 100 percent FDI is also permitted through direct automatic route,” he emphasized.

Giving the Keynote Address on the theme of Renewable Energy in India: Emerging Areas and Opportunities, Shri Khuba added that India is set to tap into more than 70 Gigawatt of off-shore wind potential. “India now has decided to ramp up its solar module manufacturing capacity. The Government of India has recently launched the Production Linked Incentive scheme for the manufacture of High Efficiency Solar PV Modules. We expect to add 10 Gigawatt of solar PV manufacturing capacity over the next five years”, he said

He further added, “Green hydrogen is going to play an important role in decarbonizing our economy especially in the hard-to-decarbonise sector. India is developing the National Green Hydrogen Energy Mission to scale up green hydrogen production and utilization across multiple sectors.” India is targeting initially approximately 1 million tonnes annual green hydrogen production by 2030, he said.

“Green hydrogen will be key to our energy transition goals. We intend to increase our electrolyser manufacturing capacity and undertaking process re-engineering to accommodate green hydrogen in key sectors. The green hydrogen economy in India is an excellent rewarding opportunity for global investors”, Shri Khuba added.

Shri Khuba also proudly said that for the RE sector, USD 5.6 billion equity inflow has been received in the last five years which speaks volumes about India’s emergence as one of the most attractive destinations for investment into RE.

India’s ambitious target of 450 GW opens up investment opportunities to the tune of USD 221 billion by 2030. This will be a long-term investment into sustainable development for our future generations, he added. “I invite partner countries and business leaders of the world to come and join us in this unprecedented journey we are undertaking”, said Shri Khuba.

Mr. Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi, Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India said that the current RE capacity additions in India is a result of public policy to a large extent and the private sector has played a key role in achieving this. “Going forward,  more and more firms in the renewable energy and storage space will also come in a big way to support the generation projects or as part of transmission projects,” he added.

He further stated that the government is making policy ecosystem more favourable to the RE sector which makes it obligatory for the Discoms to buy renewable energy. The market mechanisms will also be further strengthened, and energy exchanges will see more prominence.

On the topic of the general investment climate in India’s RE sector and new and emerging areas of opportunities for investors, Mr. Chaturvedi said yesterday that MNRE is making continuous efforts towards ease of business reforms and issues are addressed on a regular basis.  Some of these are a set of robust RE bidding guidelines, dispute resolution mechanism, among others due to which investment in the sector has increased exponentially in the last seven years to about USD 70 billion.

Mr. Chaturvedi listed three new areas of emerging opportunities for investors – green hydrogen, off-shore wind, and solar PV manufacturing. The mandatory purchase obligations are intended to increase use of green hydrogen in sectors like fertilizers, petroleum refining, and city gas distribution. Creating this scale will keep prices low for consumers, he said. Large investments will be required to meet the demand for 8 GW of electrolyser capacity for green hydrogen by 2030.

“On-shore wind potential is about 695 GW in addition to the 70 GW off-shore potential”, he added noting that Government support and investments from domestic and foreign players will be required over the next few years. This will give a fillip to already robust market for wind power manufacturing in India. Led by bids from the PLI scheme for solar PV modules, Mr. Chaturvedi also said that 55 GW of capacity will require over INR 80,000 crore of investment. A large amount of this investment will be directed towards the production of polysilicon modules and wafer-ingots.

During the MNRE-IREDA (Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency) event today, Mr. Chaturvedi further added that RE being a continuously evolving area for India would require investment of over USD 230 billion and, therefore, the role of special funding agencies like IREDA become crucial for fulfilling this requirement.

Speaking on SECI’s role in India’s energy transition, Mr. Chaturvedi praised SECI’s successful journey so far in clean energy deployment and stated that SECI will evolve to foray into emerging areas like green hydrogen, battery storage and solar PV manufacturing.

The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) in partnership with FICCI, organised a series of events, from October 6th-8th, 2021at Expo 2020 Dubai. The events covered the themes of India's Renewable Energy Achievements and Ambitions, Emerging Areas and Opportunities for renewable energy in India including focussed events anchored by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA)’s journey highlighting the success and achievements on the road to 450 GW by 2030.

8-Jun-2021: MNRE to conduct series of webinars on achievements in New & Renewable Energy

As part of the Government of India’s plan to commemorate 75 years of India’s Independence (Bharat Ka Amrut Mahotsav) by organizing events to celebrate the achievements of the last 75 years, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), has been conducting a series of webinars on achievements in new and renewable energy for 75 weeks starting from 15th March 2021.

A five week program in this regard has been drawn for Standards and Quality Control activities, during June 2021 to March 2022. The webinars will be addressed by key speakers on the important topics followed by interaction with participants.

The focus of the program on Standards and Quality Control being organized from  7th to 12th  June 2021 is on policy and practices in standard development and also measures for quality assurance in the renewable energy sector. This webinar will be followed by technology-wise weekly webinars; SPV Modules in August 2021, SPV inverter and battery storage in November 2021, Solar Thermal Systems and Wind Turbines in Jan 2022 and SHP and Biogas Plant/Power Systems in March 2022.

The objective of these webinars is to share the experiences of participants including international agencies for strengthening standards development and quality infrastructure in the country. Participants include experts from R&D/academic institutions, test labs, Standards Development Bodies (both domestic and international), regulatory agencies, conformity assessment agencies, accreditation agencies, policy makers, industries, project developers, financiers, project implementing agencies, etc.

The First Week of webinars (7th -12th  June 2021) will be addressed by key speakers from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), National Institute of Wind Energy(NIWE), Chennai, NABL, New Delhi, British Standards Institute(BSI), UK, CSIR(NPL), Delhi, TUV Rhineland, Bengaluru, PTB Germany, with panelists from NISE, NIWE, IIT Bombay, IIT Chennai, CEA, CSIR(CECRI), CSIR(NPL), SECI, BIS, NABL, UL India Pvt Ltd., BHEL, PTB, Germany.

The Standards and Quality Control activities of MNRE focus on streamlining the process for development of standards and implementation. A Lab Policy on Testing, Standardization and Performance Certification was notified by MNRE in December 2017. Earlier, on 5th September 2017 MNRE has notified Quality Control Order under BIS Act (Compulsory Registration) for quality control of SPV Modules, inverters and battery storage systems used in SPV power projects. The MNRE in November 2020 also recommended to BIS to adopt one standard for one product approach.

25-Mar-2021: Measures to Achieve Energy Transition Towards Clean Energy

Government of India has set a target for installing 175 GW of Renewable Energy capacity (excluding large hydro) by the end of 2021-22 which includes 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from Biomass and 5 GW from Small Hydro.

In order to become self-reliant in power generation and achieving energy transition towards clean energy, Government has inter-alia taken following measures:

  1. The renewable energy capacity to go up to 450 GW.
  2. Phase-wise retirement of old polluting coal based power plants.
  3. Setting up of Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Parks to provide land and transmission to RE developers on a plug and play basis.
  4. Schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Surakshaevam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM), Solar Rooftop Phase II, 12000 MW CPSU Scheme Phase II, etc.
  5. Laying of new transmission lines and creating new sub-station capacity under the Green Energy Corridor Scheme for evacuation of renewable power.
  6. Notifying Bidding Guidelines for tariff based competitive bidding process for procurement of Power from Grid Connected Solar PV and Wind Projects.
  7. Declaring Large Hydro Power (LHPs) (>25 MW projects) as Renewable Energy source.
  8. Hydro Purchase Obligation (HPO) as a separate entity within Non-solar Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO).
  9. Tariff rationalization measures for bringing down hydro power tariff.
  10. Budgetary Support for Flood Moderation/Storage Hydro Electric Projects (HEPs).
  11. Budgetary Support to Cost of Enabling Infrastructure, i.e. roads/bridges for hydro projects.
    1. ₹ 1.5 crore per MW for projects upto 200 MW
    2. ₹ 1.0 crore per MW for projects above 200 MW.