AN ET EDGE INITIATIVE

CHIEF GUEST

BABUL SUPRIYO, Minister of State for Urban development, Government of Celebrating Excellence in Power I think the biggest change that India has seen in the last year and a half is defi- The 3rd Annual Economic Times Power Focus Summit celebrated the extensive and excellent nitely the energy of our Prime Minister, who is not contributions of captains of the industry at a gala evening event only energetic but also courageous enough to share t goes without saying that power is an es- his vision for our country. sential piece of the infrastructural jigsaw, India does have everything playing a key role in driving economic it needs to make it a super- I power. We are the fastest growth and the well-being of the nation. growing economy in the There is much evidence of advances in infra- world and in terms of power structure across roads, airports, telecommu- and coal, the remarkable 9.8 nications and ports, and a similar thrust is per cent coal production growth has cut down coal needed for the power sector. Only then can imports and helped in the growth of the country's the sector be a catalyst for the nation's economy. growth. The 3rd Annual Economic Times Power Fo- cus Summit saw several dignitaries recog- nized for their achievements in furthering the , Minister of Railways, power sector. Those felicitated were Tarun Gogoi (Chief Minister, Government of As- With increased population sam), S Kishore (Principal Secretary, Govern- and increased economic ac- ment of ), KS Popli tivity and improved power, (CMD, IREDA), M K Goyal (Chair- there is a need for increased man & Managing Director, Power power as well. Of course, us- ing fossil fuels and tradi- Finance Corporation), IS Jha tional forms of energy will (Chairman & Managing Director, impact human life itself Power Grid Corporation Of India), Deepak more than the use of renew- Amitabh (Chairman & Managing Director, able forms of energy. This is PTC) and Dr Aswani Kumar (Managing Direc- > From left to right: Ratul Puri (Chairman, Hindustan Power Projects), B Sivakumar (Vice President & Head Illumination EPC BU, Bajaj Electricals), (Minister of a challenging situation, and tor, Solar Energy Corporation of India). Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy, Government of India), and Deepak Lamba (President, TCL – BCCL) grace the stage during the grand evening felicitation ceremony to address it, every country will have to work out a framework to integrate ener- gy, the economy, the environment, social issues, the political viability of all of this and this ultimately has to be a good business model too.

GOVERNMENT PERSPECTIVE The way ahead for the sector

TARUN GOGOI, Chief Minister of Assam Vijay Karia, Chairman, Ravin Group of Companies shares his thoughts on how the There was a time when As- power sector is slated to shape up sam was full of insurgency. Some say that no develop- The Modi Government is com- formers and meters to reduce elec- creased electrification, what op- that a long term as well as a more ment has taken place in As- mitted to making it easier to do tricity lost during transmission and portunities do you foresee for cost effective solution would be off- sam during the last 15 business in India. How do you distribution (or theft) from around updating the technology stan- grid solar energy, and solar pump- years. Today, this award think this will impact the power 22-27% per cent to 15 % by 2018- dards used to deliver electricity ing solutions. Urban areas would stands as a testimony that peace has returned and As- sector? 19. Also, 83 % of generation capac- to India's hinterland? have to be covered by smart grids. sam is on the path of devel- With the launch of the UDAY ity addition target of 88,537 MW for In villages, the concept of mini Hence a rural area would ideally be opment. Scheme, Operational efficiency im- 12th Five Year Plan has already been and micro grids would have to come energy independent and should provements has been proposed to achieved. in and one of the best solutions have its own sources of generation, be brought in by compulsory smart would lie in the solar energy space. so that losses are minimized, and metering, upgradation of trans- With rural India enjoying in- For the rural electrification we feel energy costs are reduced.