FM urges states to focus on infra, electricity supply

NEW DELHI: For India’s industrial growth, states should focus on creating infrastructure and ensuring electricity supply round the clock at affordable prices, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday, assuring them of full support by the Union government.

“I assure on behalf of Centre all support for infrastructure. ₹7.5 lakh crore is allotted for this. Centre is ready to allot even more for infrastructure,” she said in Chennai. “But we should ensure industrial growth. All states should enhance infrastructure.”

Sitharaman was in Tamil Nadu to participate in the Centre’s nationwide outreach programme to explain opportunities created by recently signed free trade agreements (FTAs) with the UAE and Australia. The finance minister’s assurance came at a time when several states are facing power shortages that are not only causing inconvenience to the people but impacting manufacturing. She also asked industry leaders to participate in meeting the country’s energy requirements through both conventional and non-conventional sources.

Many states have faced hours of outages this summer because of an unrelenting surge in power demand due to a heatwave and rapid economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic. The situation is expected to aggravate further during the monsoons if cash-strapped power producers do not have adequate coal inventories. Coal offtake from mines is typically affected during the rainy season. “Let’s all strive to ensure adequate electricity around the clock at affordable price. Give priority to energy planning from all sources,” the finance minister said. “Centre is ready to provide all support to states and industries.”

India is undergoing a power crisis as electricity demand has surged. Peak power demand reached a record 207.111 gigawatt (GW) on April 29, leading to a shortage of 5.4% (10.77 GW). While the Centre accused staterun electricity distribution companies of poor planning and lack of funds to buy electricity and coal, some states blamed the Union government for not supplying adequate coal.

Speaking about the two free trade pacts, Sitharaman asked the industry to take advantage of zero duty access to Indian products in the two key markets. She praised efforts of the commerce ministry for its initiative to launch a nationwide awareness drive.

The Chennai event was organised to sensitise exporters of goods and services on the trade agreements, a government spokesperson said.

India entered the post-Covid era with two major FTAs. On February 18, it signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement with the UAE. Less than two months later, it inked a comprehensive but interim trade deal, the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, with Australia on April 2.