The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, while presenting the General Budget 2014-15 in Parliament today, has announced several initiatives for strengthening energy sector.
Power
The Finance Minister has proposed to allocate an initial sum of Rs 1 billion for preparatory work for a new scheme ''Ultra-Modern Super Critical Coal Based Thermal Power Technology'' to promote cleaner and more efficient thermal power.
Coal
The Finance Minister Jaitley also announced comprehensive measures for enhancing domestic coal production with a stringent mechanism for quality control and environmental protection. Measures will be initiated to provide adequate quantity of coal to power plants which are already commissioned or would be commissioned by March, 2015 to unlock dead investments.
New & Renewable Energy
The Finance Minister Jaitley has proposed to take up Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Laddakh in J&K. A sum of Rs 5 billion is allocated for this purpose. He also allocated a sum of Rs 4 billion for launching a scheme for Solar Power driven agricultural pump sets and water pumping stations. An additional amount of Rs 1 billion is set aside for the development of 1 MW Solar Parks on the banks of canals. Implementation of Green Energy Corridor Projects will be accelerated in this financial year to facilitate evacuation of renewable energy across the country.
Petroleum & Natural Gas
The Finance Minister has announced the initiation to accelerate production and exploitation of Coal Bed Methane reserves. The possibility of using modern technology to revive old or closed wells will also be explored to maximize the production.
The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley stated that the usage of Piped Natural Gas will be rapidly scaled-up in a mission mode as it is clean and efficient to deliver.