24-Mar-2023: Cabinet approves targeted subsidy to Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana Consumers
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved a subsidy of Rs.200 per 14.2 kg cylinder for up to 12 refills per year to be provided to the beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana(PMUY). As on 1st March 2023 there are 9.59 crore PMUY beneficiaries.
The total expenditure will be Rs.6,100 crore for financial year 2022-23 and Rs.7,680 crore for 2023-24. The subsidy is credited directly to bank accounts of the eligible beneficiaries. Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies namely Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL) have already been providing this subsidy since 22nd May, 2022.
There has been a sharp increase in international prices of LPG due to various geopolitical reasons. It is important to shield PMUY beneficiaries from high LPG prices.
Targeted support to PMUY consumers encourages them for continuous usage of LPG. It is important to ensure sustained LPG adoption and usage among PMUY consumers so that they can completely switch to cleaner cooking fuel. Average LPG consumption of PMUY consumers has increased by 20 percent from 3.01 refills in 2019-20 to 3.68 in 2021-22. All PMUY beneficiaries are eligible for this targeted subsidy.
To make Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG), a clean cooking fuel, available to the rural and deprived poor households, Government launched Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana in May 2016, to provide deposit free LPG connections to adult women of poor households.
24-Mar-2023: Government committed to fully implement Biomass Co-firing Policy
The Ministry of Power organized a National Conference on Biomass “3P-Pellet to Power to Prosperity” in New Delhi under the aegis of National Mission on Use of Biomass in Thermal Power Plants (SAMARTH) and National Power Training Institute (NPTI). The conference was aimed at fostering an enabling environment to boost co-firing of biomass pellets in Thermal Power Plants in India as well as to provide a common platform for all the stakeholders in the field to share their knowledge and experience, to strengthen the biomass supply ecosystem.
The Conference was a great initiative to bring all the stakeholders on a common platform and will benefit everyone from farmer to pellet manufacturers to Thermal Power Plants besides helping in reduction of pollution especially in the NCR region caused by stubble burning during the winter season. The Biomass Co-firing Policy is an important step towards reducing emissions from the power sector. “India had already achieved the non-fossil based generation capacity targets of COP’21, 9 years ahead of the 2030 deadline. Hon’ble Prime Minister has committed to cut India’s emissions to net zero by 2070 at the COP’26. India is taking a number of steps for promoting Green Energy,” the Minister of State for Power said. He added that the government was making serious efforts to promote the biomass pellet manufacturing sector. So far about 1 Lakh MT of biomass has been co-fired more than 41 Thermal Power Stations, which is expected to increase further.
Shri Alok Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Power appreciated the work done by the National Mission on Use of Biomass in Thermal Power Plants (SAMARTH). He said that a lot of work needed to be done as the competing fuels had a long history of growth and a well-established strong supply chain. He urged the State Regulatory Bodies, State Generation Companies and IPPs to promote the use of Biomass Pellets saying that despite multiple advantages, there was an inertia on part of these bodies to push for greater use of biomass pellets. Shri Alok Kumar added that the Ministry will soon write to State Regulatory Bodies in this regard. The Power Secretary also emphasized upon the need to ensure an intermediary agency as a bridge for efficient supply-demand linkages between pellet supplier/manufactures and Thermal Power Stations, which are Biomass Pellet users.
The conversion of Biomass agro residue into pellets and co-firing them in Thermal Power Plants is expected to not only save the environment from harmful effects of stubble burning but also contribute towards the reduction of country’s dependence on imported coal in electricity generation, and increase the earning potential of farmers and small entrepreneurs.
20-Mar-2023: Ethanol Blending Program targets to achieve 20% blending of ethanol in petrol by Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2025-26
India has submitted its updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for the period 2021-2030 and its long-term low carbon development strategy which lays out India’s vision and approaches towards reaching net zero by 2070. These documents have been prepared after taking into account the foundational principles of equity and Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC), different national circumstances and our priorities for sustainable development.
The Central Government has taken a number of initiatives for prevention, control and abatement of pollution including enactment of environmental laws and associated regulations; issuance of guidelines on various aspects of environment protection, forests and biodiversity conservation; notification of National Ambient Air Quality and effluent discharge standards; introduction of cleaner / alternate fuels; ethanol blending program; leapfrogging from Bharat Stage (BS) IV to BS VI fuel norms; promotion of cleaner production processes; incentives for production and use of hybrid and electric vehicles; notification of various rules for environmentally sound management of different types of waste-solid, plastic, hazardous, bio-medical, construction and demolition and e-Waste; ban on identified single use plastic; banning open burning of leaves, biomass and waste; monitoring the implementation of notified rules, standards and guidelines; and issuance of directions under Section 5 of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and under Section 18(1)(b) of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, wherever required; etc. In addition, the Government of India is implementing National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) as a national level strategy to reduce air pollution levels across the country. Under NCAP, City Specific Clean Air Action Plans for 131 non-attainment/million plus cities have been prepared to improve air quality.