Budget 2013 welcomed by power sector

Budget 2013 welcomed by power sector
The recent Union Budget has nothing extraordinary for the industry, except for those companies with annual income of more than Rs.100 million, which are going to have tax surcharge of 10 per cent. However, the power sector got a few goose bumps, which is better than nothing.The crisis-ridden power industry welcomed the budget proposals as the wind power sector heaves a sigh of relief as the finance minister allocated Rs 8 billion for ministry of new and renewable sector. Even the oil and natural gas blocks under NELP have got something to cheer for as they would be cleared this fiscal year.

We were hoping for some corrective measures to revive the downturn in the domestic electrical equipment industry which is reeling under the twin onslaught of the slowdown in the country’s power sector, which has depressed domestic demand. Additionally, the rapidly escalating imports of electrical equipment. This has resulted into underutilisation of the manufacturing capacity for electrical equipment.- J. G. Kulkarni, President, IEEMA

 
Finance minister’s announcement in the Union Budget for 2013-14 to extend tax holiday up to March 2014 is a welcome move for the power sector, which has been facing many bottlenecks in recent past. However, the announcement to impose 2 per cent customs duty on coal import is disappointing as many power projects in the country are suffering from fuel-linkage issues. The GBI reintroduction will help the power sector in terms of motivation for installing additional capacity and reducing power deficit of country. Further, the government’s announcement to provide low-cost finance to renewable project should be seen a positive development for sector. It will help the companies pass on the lower financing cost to end users. Low cost of finance shall improve project viability as India is left with low energy yield sites.- Hemant Kanoria, Chairman, DPSC Ltd

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