On July 30, 2022, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the Grand Finale of ‘Ujjwal Bharat Ujjwal Bhavishya- Power @2047’ via video conferencing.
What is Ujjwal Bharat, Ujjwal Bhavishya -Power @2047?
i.As a part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, it was organized from July 25-31, 2022 in all districts of India by the Electricity Department. It was initiated by the Ministry of Power, and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), to showcase the transformation, and achievements in the power sector in the last 8 years.
ii.It also highlights the vision ahead on Power @ 2047.
iii.Under this program, the Ministry of Power and MNRE also organized ‘Bijli Mahotsav’ across all districts of India from July 25-31, 2022 through active public participation, and through the collaboration of the state and the Central Governments.
iv.More than 1500+ events/ activities were organized at district level in coordination with District administration.
PM launches Power Sector’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme
PM digitally launched the Ministry of Power’s flagship Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) with an outlay of Rs 3,03,758 crore over a period of five years from FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26.
Aim of Scheme:
i.To improve the operational efficiencies and financial sustainability of Distribution Companies (DISCOMs)
ii.To provide financial assistance to DISCOMs for modernization and strengthening of distribution infrastructure
iii.To improve the reliability and quality of supply to end consumers.
iv.To provide 25 crore Smart Prepaid meters to all Indian consumers
PM Launches the National Solar Rooftop Portal
The PM also launched the National Portal for Rooftop solar (https://solarrooftop.gov.in/) at Kandukur village which will enable online tracking of the process of installation of rooftop solar plants, registering the applications, release of subsidy in residential consumers’ bank account, among others.
- The portal is designed, developed and hosted by National Informatics Centre (NIC) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
Key Points:
i.The estimated capacity under the national solar rooftop program is 4000 MW.
ii.The subsidy will be released directly into the bank account of the consumer within 30 days. The rate of subsidy will be common for all the consumers in the country.
iii.To protect the interest of consumers, vendors are mandated to get registered at the DISCOM, and also have to maintain the rooftop solar system for at least 5 years.
iv.With the installation of rooftop solar, a household consumer will not only save electricity bill but will also be able to contribute towards the addition of green energy.
- It will benefit more than 10 lakh households.
PM Dedicates and lays Foundation Stone of Green Energy Projects of NTPC worth over Rs 5200cr
The PM also dedicated and laid the foundation stone of the following various green energy projects of NTPC (formerly National thermal power corporation) worth over Rs 5200 crore:
Inaugurations:
i.100 MW (Mega Watt) Ramagundam Floating Solar Project in Telangana: It is India’s largest floating solar PV (photovoltaic) project with 4.5 lakh ‘Made in India’ solar PV modules.
- Constructed at a cost of Rs 423 crore through BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited) as EPC (Engineering , Procurement and Construction) contract, the project is spread over 500 acres of NTPC-Ramagundam reservoir.
- It can save coal consumption of 1.65 lakh tonnes a year and carbon dioxide emission of 2.1 lakh tonnes a year.
ii.92 MW Kayamkulam Floating Solar Project in Kerala: It is the second largest floating solar PV project consisting of 3 lakh Made in India solar PV panels floating on water. The project is Rs 465 crores.
- It was built on a 450-acre lake area adjacent to the NTPC’s Rajiv Gandhi Combined Cycle Power Project (RGCCPP).
- The power generated from the plant can light up around 26,000 households every day, and reduce carbon emissions by 1.73 lakh tonnes every year.
Foundation Stone:
i.735 MW Nokh Solar Project at Nokh, in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan: It is India’s largest Domestic Content Requirement based Solar project with 1000 MWp (Mega-Watt peak) at a single location, deploying high-wattage bifacial PV Modules with a tracker system.
- The production will start till September 2023.
ii.Green Hydrogen Mobility Project in Leh, Ladakh: It is a pilot project and aims for five Fuel Cell Buses to be run in and around Leh. This pilot project would be the first deployment of Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles for public use in India.
iii.Kawas Green Hydrogen Blending with Natural Gas project in Gujarat: The Green Hydrogen Blending Pilot Project at NTPC Kawas Township will be India’s first Green Hydrogen Blending Project helping in reducing the usage of natural gas.
Achievements of Power Sector:
i.Power generation capacity has increased to over 4,00,000 MW which is 1,85,000 MW more than our demand.
ii.Distribution infrastructure has been augmented with addition of over 6 lakh ckm (Circuit Kilo Meters) LT (Low Tension) lines, 2,68,838 11 KV (Kilovolt) HT (High Tension) lines and Feeder segregation of 1,22,123 ckm agricultural feeders.
iii.In 2015 the average hours of supply in rural areas was 12.5 Hrs (Hours) which has now increased to an average 22.5 Hrs.
iv.Gujarat, Rajasthan, Kerala, and Telangana’s renewable energy initiatives will help all of India.
v.Ladakh will become India’s first region to receive Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCVs) and work towards being carbon neutral.
vi.India aims to create 175 GW (Giga Watt) of renewable energy capacity by 2022.
PM addresses inaugural session of First All India District Legal Services Authorities Meet
The first-ever national-level meeting of All India District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs) was organised from July 30-31 at Vigyan Bhawan by National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).
- Its inaugural session was addressed by PM Narendra Modi.
- The PM also released a commemorative postal stamp on the ‘Right to free legal aid’.
Key Points:
i.The focus of the meeting was on the creation of an integrated procedure in order to bring homogeneity and synchronisation across DLSAs.
ii.There are a total of 676 DLSAs in India which are headed by the District Judge who acts as Chairman of the authority.
iii.Through DLSAs and State Legal Services Authorities (SLSAs), various legal aid and awareness programmes are implemented by NALSA.
iv.The DLSAs also contribute towards reducing the burden on courts by regulating the Lok Adalats conducted by NALSA.
Other Participants:
Chief Justice of India Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana; Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, Ministry of Law and Justice; Supreme Court Judges Justice Uday Umesh Lalit; and Justice Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud, among others.
Recent Related News:
i.PM Narendra Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of various development projects worth Rs 3,050 crores during the ‘Gujarat Gaurav Abhiyan’ at Khudvel, a tribal region in Navsari district of Gujarat.
ii.Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a two-day visit to Bengaluru, Karnataka to lay the foundation stone of multiple rail and road infrastructure projects worth over Rs 28000 crore.
About Ministry of Power:
Union Minister – Raj Kumar Singh (Arrah Constituency, Bihar)
Minister of State (MoS)– Krishan Pal (Faridabad Constituency, Haryana)
