The Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar took a review meeting of the Department of Agricultural Research & Education (DARE) and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) here today. He emphasised on enhancing the reach of technologies amongst farmers and reach out to maximum number of farmers through the network of ICAR and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs).

ICAR has developed 1234 crop varieties and 345 horticultural varieties during 2014-19. Many of the ICAR varieties and technologies are earning foreign exchange and contributing towards food security of the country. ICAR and KVKs have contributed positively in implementation of different Government Special campaigns like Krishi Kalyan Abhiyan, Jalshakti Abhiyan, tree plantation campaign and International Women’s Day celebrations.

The Krishi Kalyan Abhiyan (KKA) is being implemented in 112 Aspirational districts of the country. So far two phases of Krishi Kalyan Abhiyan have been completed in which 11.05 lakh farmers were trained by KVKs and over 5000 frontline demonstrations at farmer’s field were conducted. In the third phase of KKA training of about 17 lakh farmers on diversified farming practices for doubling farmers’ income is planned.

ICAR also sensitised and mobilised the farmers for water conservation measures during Jalshakti Abhiyan through 466 melas organised by 243 KVKs in which about 3.14 lakh farmers and school children participated in the two phases of the Abhiyan. More than 7.1 lakh tree saplings were planted under tree plantation campaign in which public leadership took active part with the participation of 34 MPs, 50 MLAs and 2000 other VIPs and Officials.

While developing new technologies is an ongoing process and priority of the ICAR system, special efforts are made to reach out to maximum farmers through quality planting materials and seeds of improved varieties of crops as well as fish fingerlings and quality semen and strains of indigenous animal breeds. More than 14 lakh quintals of seed and 2425 lakh planting materials were produced by KVKs. Another 512 lakh quality planting materials of fruits and vegetables were produced by other institutes. These seeds and planting materials are provided to farmers on a very nominal cost. The KVKs provided 26.85 crore mobile agro advisories during 2014-19.

ICAR has developed 66 vaccines & diagnostics during 2014-19 for the diagnosis and control of diseases of animals. For the first time in India, gazette notification of 184 registered indigenous breeds was done in 2019 that will help protecting and promotion of indigenous breeds. Open-sea cage culture technology was extended for fish production in more than 2500 cages in East and West coast during last five years and 22 cost effective feeds were developed for different life stages of important fish/finfish species. ICAR in a joint effort with States and Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare helped in distribution of machines to farmers and Custom Hiring Centres for in-situ management of crop residues. The number of burning incidences has reduced by 52% in 2019 compared with the incidences in 2016.

ICAR proactively worked for the prevention of stress to farmers due to COVID-19. Advisory to farmers in 15 regional languages were communicated to over 5.48 crore farmers. About 42.7 lakh farmers were sensitized for use of Arogya Setu mobile application to fight COVID 19 pandemic and 4.33 lakh farmers have downloaded the application. ICAR’s three institutes NIHSAD Bhopal, IVRI Izatnagar, and NRC on Equines, Hissar were notified for COVID-19 testing in humans and Zoo animals. Till date 1561 samples have been tested by these institutes.

More than 33 crore poor people received financial assistance of Rs 31,235 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package Rs 10,025 crore disbursed to 20.05 crore to Women Jan Dhan account holders Rs 1405 crore disbursed to about 2.82 crore old age persons, widows and disabled persons

First instalment of PM-KISAN :Rs 16,146 crore transferred to 8 crore farmers Rs 162 crore transferred in 68,775 establishments as EPF contribution , benefitting 10.6 lakh employees; 2.17 crore Building; Construction workers received financial support amounting to Rs 3497 crore

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana 39.27 crore beneficiaries distributed free ration of food grains 1,09,227 MT of Pulses; dispatched to various States/UTs Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana : 2.66 crore free Ujjwala cylinders delivered Posted On: 23 APR 2020 12:10PM by PIB Delhi

Using the digital payment infrastructure , more than 33crore poor people have been directly given financial assistance of Rs 31,235 crore( as on 22nd April,2020)under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) announced by Union Finance Minister SmtNirmalaSitharaman on 26th March,2020 to protect them from the impact of the lockdown due to COVID 19.

As part of the PMGKP, the Government announced free food grains and cash payment to women and poor senior citizens and farmers. The swift implementation of the package is being continuously monitored by Central and State governments. Finance Ministry, the concerned Ministries, Cabinet Secretariat and PMO are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the relief measures reach the needy swiftly and in line with the intent of the lock down.

The following financial assistance (cash amount) has been released to beneficiaries till 22ndApril 2020, under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package.

Fintech and digital technology have been employed for swift and efficient transfer to the beneficiary. Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), i.e. transfer that ensures that the amount is directly credited into the account of the beneficiary, eliminates leakage and improves efficiency has been employed. This has also ensured credit to the beneficiary’s account without the need for the beneficiary to physically go to the branch.

The progress achieved so far, under various components of PMGKP is as follows: Pradhan MantriGaribKalyanAnn Yojana :- So far 40.03 Lakh MT of food grains have been lifted by 36 States/UTs out of 40 Lakh MT for April. 19.63 lakh MT has been distributed by 31 States/UT to 39.27crore beneficiaries covered by 1.19 Crore Ration cards as April 2020 entitlement.

1,09,227 MT of Pulses have also been dispatched to various states/UTs. Free Gas Cylinders to Pradhan MantriUjjwalaYojana beneficiaries:-

Total 3.05crore cylinders have been booked under this PMUY scheme so far and 2.66 crorePMUY free cylinders already delivered to beneficiaries. Nonrefundable advance of 75% of outstanding balance or 3 months’ wages, whichever is lower allowed to the members EPFO:-

6.06 lakh members of EPFOhave availed online withdrawal of Rs. 1954 croreso far. EPF contribution for 3 months; Payment of 24% of Wages as contribution to EPFO members drawing wages below Rs 15000 per months in establishment up to 100 workers.

An amount of Rs.1000 crorehas already been released to EPFOfor the Scheme for the month of April, 2020.78.74 lakh beneficiaries and concerned establishments have been informed. A scheme to implement the announcement finalized. FAQshas been put on the website. A total of 10.6 lakh employees have benefitted so far and a total of Rs. 162.11 crore has been transferred in 68,775 establishments.

MNREGA:- Increased rate has been notified w.e.f 01-04-2020.In the current financial year, 1.27croreperson’s man-days of work generated. Further, Rs 7300 crore released to states to liquidate pending dues of both wage and material.

Insurance Scheme for health workers in Government Hospitals and Health Care Centres :- The Scheme has been operationalised by New India Assurance covering 22.12 Lakh health workers.

Support to Farmers :- Of the total disbursement, Rs 16,146crore has gone towards payment of the first instalment of PM-KISAN. Under the scheme, all8crore out of the 8 crore identified beneficiaries got ₹2,000 directly in their account.

Support to PMJDY Women account holders:- As large number of household in India are largely managed by the women, under the package, as many as 20.05crore women Jan Dhan account holders received ₹500 each in their account. As on 22nd April,2020, the total disbursement under the head was ₹10,025crore.

Support to old age persons, widows and disabled persons:- The National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP)disbursed about ₹1,405crore to about 2.82 crore old age persons, widows and disabled persons. Each beneficiary received an ex-gratia cash of Rs 500 under the scheme as the first instalment. Another instalment of Rs 500 each will be paid during next month.

Support to Building & other Construction workers:- As many as 2.17croreBuilding &construction workers received financial support from the Building and Construction Workers’ Fund managed by state governments. Under this Rs 3,497crore has been given to beneficiaries.

With its ancient knowledge and treasure trove of books, India is a link between the past and the future - Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ Posted On: 23 APR 2020 7:34PM by PIB Delhi

On the occasion of WORLD BOOK & COPYRIGHT DAY Union Minister of HRD Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ participated in a WEBINAR on Post-COVID Publishing Scenario organized by National Book Trust, India and FICCI in New Delhi.

Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' tagged several Union Ministers on social media and appealed to join #MyBookMyFriend initiative Posted On: 23 APR 2020 7:20PM by PIB Delhi

Union Minister of Human Resource Development, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ extended greetings to everyone on the occasion of World Book Day

DoPT (Department of Personnel & Training) online Corona course is receiving huge response and within two weeks of its launching, over 2,90,000 training courses have been initiated and over 1,83,000 users have registered on the platform.

Disclosing this here today to the media, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said that in a novel experiment, possibly the first of its kind, DoPT had introduced a module for empowering frontline Corona Warriors through the learning platform https://igot.gov.in.

Petroleum and Natural Gas& Steel Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan has called upon all the stakeholders in the LPG cylinder supply chain to work diligently and in a systematic manner to speedily increase the delivery of free Refills to PMUY beneficiaries. Under the Pradhan Mantri Garib kalyan package, over 8 crore PMUY beneficiaries are eligible to get 3 free cylinders over the next 3 months

Professor Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DST--- “Use of highly effective antimicrobial nanoparticles on PPEs, masks etc is a useful application that will provide an extra layer of protection for the high risk settings” Posted On: 23 APR 2020 6:44PM by PIB Delhi

As part of Nano Mission programme, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has approved support for upscaling an antiviral nano-coatings developed by Professor Ashwini Kumar Agrawal of Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi for use as appropriate material for producing anti-COVID-19 Triple Layer Medical masks and N-95 respirator in large quantities.

Silver is known to have strong antimicrobial activity against bacteria, viruses, fungus, and so on. Professor Agrawal developed N9 blue nanosilver at SMITA Research Lab, IIT Delhi, under the nanomission project, and will be carrying out the upscaling work in association with two industrial partners Resil Chemicals Pvt Ltd. Bangalore and Nanoclean Global Pvt Ltd., New Delhi.

Resil chemicals will provide N9 blue nanosilver. Nanoclean Global will provide face masks and PPE materials for the application of nanocoating and will help in the design and fabrication of samples at their facilities.

"DST has initiated and nurtured nanoscience activities in the country in the last two decades producing quality human resources, infrastructure and knowledge in this globally competitive area. Today India stands 3rd globally in the number of scientific publications in nanosciences. The use of highly effective antimicrobial nanoparticles on PPEs, masks etc is a useful application that will provide an extra layer of protection for the high risk settings, such as for the medical workers", said Professor Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DST.

Prof Agrawal, along with his team, proposes to evaluate antiviral properties of this compound against COVID-19 in association with AIIMS, New Delhi, and ILBS, New Delhi. The N9 blue nanosilver, which is a highly potent antimicrobial agent, will be further modified to form nanocomplexes with Zinc compounds to achieve a synergistic effect. Subsequently, these nanomaterials will be applied as coatings on facemasks and other PPEs to improve their ability to protect the wearer from accidental contamination from COVID-19 virus droplets. The researchers will evaluate the shelf life of the coatings and their efficacy with different storage conditions such as temperature, humidity, and time and prepare facemasks and PPEs and provide these for field trials.

(CSIR) has decided to develop/repurpose an approved immunomodulator, Sepsivac®, to enhance innate immunity of the body to limit the spread of COVID-19 and fasten the recovery of the patients of COVID-19 New clinical trials are now approved by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI)

They will be randomized, double-blind, two-arm, controlled clinical trials These two clinical trials are in addition to the recently announced trial on evaluating the efficacy of the drug for reducing mortality (deaths) in critically ill COVID-19 patient

Posted On: 23 APR 2020 3:18PM by PIB Delhi Natural defense mechanism of the body (innate immunity) plays a key role in the fight against COVID-19 and other viral infections. It is a fast, first and efficient immune response for identifying and eliminating COVID-19 and other viruses. The majority of persons coming in contact with COVID-19 or other viruses either do not get the disease or get a milder form of the self-limiting disease as Innate immunity is adequate. Cells of human immune system like Macrophages, NK cells offer such protection. While the world is working towards developing vaccines and antiviral agents for the management of COVID-19, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has decided to develop/repurpose an approved immunomodulator, Sepsivac®, to enhance innate immunity of the body to limit the spread of COVID-19 and fasten the recovery of the patients of COVID-19, through its flagship New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative (NMITLI) program.

Sepsivac® is expected-- 1. to protect the close contacts of COVID-19 patients and health care staff by boosting their innate response and thereby preventing them from acquiring the disease.

2. to provide quicker recovery to the hospitalized COVID-19 patients, who are not critically ill. It will also prevent the progression of disease wherein patients will need ICU management.

Both these new clinical trials are now approved by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI). They will be randomized, double-blind, two-arm, controlled clinical trials. These two clinical trials are in addition to the recently announced trial on evaluating the efficacy of the drug for reducing mortality (deaths) in critically ill COVID-19 patient.

Sepsivac® contains heat-killed Mycobacterium W (Mw). It is found to be extremely safe in patients and no systemic side effects are associated with its use. Sepsivac® was also developed under the NMITLI program of CSIR and is manufactured by Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Ahmedabad.

Researchers at the Arayabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) Nainital an autonomous research institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST) Govt. of India found that SN 2010kd, a super-luminous supernova stands out with the amount of mass as well as Nickel ejected during explosion, which is much more than seen in case of normal core-collapse supernovae.

Supernovae are a kind of energetic explosions where the core of massive stars (a few times to that of mass of our Sun) go to a catastrophic phase of explosion liberating huge amounts of energy. These events are visible through very far away distances much beyond our own solar system. Super-luminous supernovae are a special type of stellar explosions having energy output 10 or more times higher than that of standard supernovae.

The scientists said that the larger ejected mass of Super-luminous supernovae SN 2010kd indicates that the related star evolution might be different from other possible progenitors of normal core-collapse supernovae with a different possible underlying physical mechanism responsible for producing such energetic supernovae with large ejected mass and Ni. It exploded with a larger velocity but decayed shower than other similar supernovae.

The super-luminous supernova titled SN 2010kd is rather nearby -- approximately at a distance of 1.5 Giga light-years discovered by Robotic Optical Transient Search Experiment (ROTSE-IIIb) telescope as a part of ROTSE supernova verification project in the USA on 14 November 2010 embedded in a dwarf host galaxy towards Leo constellation.

In the study published in the journal Astrophysical Journal led by Amit Kumar, a Ph.D. student at ARIES Nainital working under Dr. S. B. Pandey along with contributions by Prof. Carl Akerlof (Uni. of Michigan, Ann Arbar), Prof. J. Craig Wheeler (Uni. of Texas, Austin), Prof. Jozsef Vinko (Uni. Of Szeged, Hungary) and other team members analysed all the data of this super-luminous supernova SN 2010kd in the light of known physics and proposed models. They carried out analytical light-curve modeling of the optical data taken from ROTSE IIIb and 1.04m Sampurnanand Telescope and spectral modeling of the data taken using 8-10m class optical telescopes for this supernova. The data was also compared with the know published a set of more than half a dozen of similar supernovae around similar distances.

The observations of the scientists show that parameters like rotation and metallicity play a crucial role in stellar explosions and that there are many more types of possible progenitors existing in diverse environments in their host galaxies than previously known.

Comparing the line velocities as obtained using spectral modeling, the scientists showed that SN 2010kd exploded with a larger velocity but decayed shower than other similar supernovae. The elected mass of the Oxygen and estimated values of luminosity of other spectral lines was also found to be higher for SN 2010kd.

Department of Biotechnology’s Center of Innovative and Applied Bioprocessing (DBT-CIAB) at Mohali, has planned a bouquet of research projects aimed at generating products that could be used for prevention, diagnosis or cure of for the deadly COVID 19 infection that is currently sweeping over the entire world.

The plan has been designed so as to utilise the expertise of its scientists, who come from a diverse range of research backgrounds including chemistry, chemical engineering, biotechnology, molecular biology, nutrition, nanotechnology.

While Under the preventive platform, the institute has planned to work on lignin derived Noble metal nanocomplexes for developing antiviral coating materials, and rose oxide-enriched citronella oil, carbopol and triethanolamine formulated alcoholic sanitizer, under the therapeutics platform, the effort will be focussed on polypyrrollic photosensitizers and their nanoformulations for antiviral photodynamic therapy, microbial production of immunomodulatory and antiviral fructan biomolecules, and development and commercial manufacturing of nasal spray kit to ease chest congestion suffered in Corona Infection etc.

Under the Drug discovery platform, in turn, the research will explore separation of therapeutic and valuable medicinal components from the peel and seeds of fruits and utilisation of natural garlic essential oil as a ACE 2 protein inhibitor for preventing SARS-CoV-2 invasion.

Besides, studies are to be conducted for development of lignin derived nanocarriers (LNCs) with potential for antiviral drug delivery and using curcumin fortified whey protein Powder as a nutraceutical.

The researchers would endeavour to come out with products that are biocompatible, low cost and scalable and have set out with a timeline of six months to one year. The studies would be conducted in collaboration with chemical industries and other government laboratories with BSL-3 facility.

The central government has enforced a nation-wide lockdown between March 25 and May 3 as part of its measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. During the lockdown, several restrictions have been placed on the movement of individuals and economic activities have come to a halt barring the activities related to essential goods and services. The restrictions are being relaxed in less affected areas in a limited manner since April 20. In this blog, we look at how the lockdown has impacted the demand and supply of electricity and what possible repercussions its prolonged effect may have on the power sector.

Power supply saw a decrease of 25% during the lockdown (year-on-year) As electricity cannot be stored in large amount, the power generation and supply for a given day are planned based on the forecast for demand. The months of January and February in 2020 had seen an increase of 3% and 7% in power supply, respectively as compared to 2019 (year-on-year). In comparison, the power supply saw a decrease of 3% between March 1 and March 24. During the lockdown between March 24 and April 19, the total power supply saw a decrease of about 25% (year-on-year).

Sources: Daily Reports; POSOCO; PRS. If we look at the consumption pattern by consumer category, in 2018-19, 41% of total electricity consumption was for industrial purposes, followed by 25% for domestic and 18% for agricultural purposes. As the lockdown has severely reduced the industrial and commercial activities in the country, these segments would have seen a considerable decline in demand for electricity. However, note that the domestic demand may have seen an uptick as people are staying indoors.

Sources: Central Electricity Authority; PRS. Electricity demand may continue to be subdued over the next few months. At this point, it is unclear that when lockdown restrictions are eased, how soon will economic activities return to pre COVID-19 levels. India’s growth projections also highlight a slowdown in the economy in 2020 which will further impact the demand for electricity. On April 16, the International Monetary Fund has slashed its projection for India’s GDP growth in 2020 from 5.8% to 1.9%.

A nominal increase in energy and peak deficit levels As power sector related operations have been classified as essential services, the plant operations and availability of fuel (primarily coal) have not been significantly constrained. This can be observed with the energy deficit and peak deficit levels during the lockdown period which have remained at a nominal level. Energy deficit indicates the shortfall in energy supply against the demand during the day. The average energy deficit between March 25 and April 19 has been 0.42% while the corresponding figure was 0.33% between March 1 and March 24. Similarly, the average peak deficit between March 25 and April 19 has been 0.56% as compared to 0.41% between March 1 and March 24. Peak deficit indicates the shortfall in supply against demand during highest consumption period in a day.

Sources: Daily Reports; POSOCO; PRS. Coal stock with power plants increases Coal is the primary source of power generation in the country (~71% in March 2020). During the lockdown period, the coal stock with coal power plants has seen an increase. As of April 19, total coal-stock with the power plants in the country (in days) has risen to 29 days as compared to 24 days on March 24. This indicates that the supply of coal has not been constrained during the lockdown, at least to the extent of meeting the requirements of power plants.

Energy mix changes during the lockdown, power generation from coal impacted During the lockdown, power generation has been adjusted to compensate for reduced consumption, Most of this reduction in consumption has been adjusted by reduced coal power generation. As can be seen in Table 1, coal power generation reduced from an average of 2,511 MU between March 1 and March 24 to 1,873 MU between March 25 and April 19 (about 25%). As a result, the contribution of coal in total power generation reduced from an average of 72.5% to 65.6% between these two periods.

This shift may be happening due to various reasons including: (i) renewable energy sources (solar, wind, and small hydro) have MUST RUN status, i.e., the power generated by them has to be given the highest priority by distribution companies, and (ii) running cost of renewable power plants is lower as compared to thermal power plants.

This suggests that if growth in electricity demand were to remain weak, the adverse impact on the coal power plants could be more as compared to other power generation sources. This will also translate into weak demand for coal in the country as almost 87% of the domestic coal production is used by the power sector. Note that the plant load factor (PLF) of the thermal power plants has seen a considerable decline over the years, decreasing from 77.5% in 2009-10 to 56.4% in 2019-20. Low PLF implies that coal plants have been lying idle. Coal power plants require significant fixed costs, and they incur such costs even when the plant is lying idle. The declining capacity utilisation augmented by a weaker demand will undermine the financial viability of these plants further.

Finances of the power sector to be severely impacted Power distribution companies (discoms) buy power from generation companies and supply it to consumers. In India, most of the discoms are state-owned utilities. One of the key concerns in the Indian power sector has been the poor financial health of its discoms. The discoms have had high levels of debt and have been running losses. The debt problem was partly addressed under the UDAY scheme as state governments took over 75% of the debt of state-run discoms (around 2.1 lakh crore in two years 2015-16 and 2016-17). However, discoms have continued to register losses owing to underpricing of electricity tariff for some consumer segments, and other forms of technical and commercial losses. Outstanding dues of discoms towards power generation companies have also been increasing, indicating financial stress in some discoms. At the end of February 2020, the total outstanding dues of discoms to generation companies stood at Rs 92,602 crore.

Due to the lockdown and its further impact in the near term, the financial situation of discoms is likely to be aggravated. This will also impact other entities in the value chain including generation companies and their fuel suppliers. This may lead to reduced availability of working capital for these entities and an increase in the risk of NPAs in the sector. Note that, as of February 2020, the power sector has the largest share in the deployment of domestic bank credit among industries (Rs 5.4 lakh crore, 19.3% of total).

Following are some of the factors which have impacted the financial situation during the lockdown: Reduced cross-subsidy: In most states, the electricity tariff for domestic and agriculture consumers is lower than the actual cost of supply. Along with the subsidy by the state governments, this gap in revenue is partly compensated by charging industrial and commercial consumers at a higher rate. Hence, industrial and commercial segments cross-subsidise the power consumption by domestic and agricultural consumers.

The lockdown has led to a halt on commercial and industrial activities while people are staying indoors. This has led to a situation where the demand from the consumer segments who cross-subsidise has decreased while the demand from consumer segments who are cross-subsidised has increased. Due to this, the gap between revenue realised by discoms and cost of supply will widen, leading to further losses for discoms. States may choose to bridge this gap by providing a higher subsidy.

Moratorium to consumers: To mitigate the financial hardship of citizens due to COVID-19, some states such as Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Goa, among others, have provided consumers with a moratorium for payment of electricity bills. At the same time, the discoms are required to continue supplying electricity. This will mean that the return for the supply made in March and April will be delayed, leading to lesser cash in hand for discoms.

Some state governments such as Bihar also announced a reduction in tariff for domestic and agricultural consumers. Although, the reduction in tariff will be compensated to discoms by government subsidy.

Constraints with government finances: The revenue collection of states has been severely impacted as economic activities have come to a halt. Further, the state governments are directing their resources for funding relief measures such as food distribution, direct cash transfers, and healthcare. This may adversely affect or delay the subsidy transfer to discoms.

The UDAY scheme also requires states to progressively fund greater share in losses of discoms from their budgetary resources (10% in 2018-19, 25% in 2019-20, and 50% in 2020-21). As losses of discoms may widen due to the above-mentioned factors, the state government’s financial burden is likely to increase.

Capacity addition may be adversely impacted As per the National Electricity Plan, India’s total capacity addition target is around 176 GW for 2017-2022. This comprises of 118 GW from renewable sources, 6.8 GW from hydro sources, and 6.4 GW from coal (apart from 47.8 GW of coal-based power projects already in various stages of production as of January 2018).

India has set a goal of installing 175 GW of Renewable Power Capacity by 2022 as part of its climate change commitments (86 GW has been installed as of January 2020). In January 2020, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy observed that India could only install 82% and 55% of its annual renewable energy capacity addition targets in 2017-18 and 2018-19. As of January 2020, 67% of the target has been achieved for 2019-20.

Due to the impact of COVID-19, the capacity addition targets for various sources is likely to be adversely impacted in the short run as: construction activities were stopped during the lockdown and will take some time to return to normal,

disruption in the global supply chain may lead to difficulties with the availability of key components leading to delay in execution of projects, for instance, for solar power plants, solar PV modules are mainly imported from China, and

reduced revenue for companies due to weak demand will leave companies with less capacity left for capital expenditure.

Key reforms likely to be delayed Following are some of the important reforms anticipated in 2020-21 which may get delayed due to the developing situation: The real-time market for electricity: The real-time market for electricity was to be operationalised from April 1, 2020. However, the lockdown has led to delay in completion of testing and trial runs. The revised date for implementation is now June 1, 2020.

UDAY 2.0/ADITYA: A new scheme for the financial turnaround of discoms was likely to come this year. The scheme would have provided for the installation of smart meters and incentives for rationalisation of the tariff, among other things. It remains to be seen what this scheme would be like since the situation with government finances is also going to worsen due to anticipated economic slowdown.

Auction of coal blocks for commercial mining: The Coal Ministry has been considering auction of coal mines for commercial mining this year. 100% FDI has been allowed in the coal mining activity for commercial sale of coal to attract foreign players. However, the global economic slowdown may mean that the auctions may not generate enough interest from foreign as well as domestic players.