The Ministry of Coal on Tuesday said that it has taken significant steps to promote renewables initiatives towards reducing carbon footprints. With a keen focus on enhancing renewable energy capacity, the Ministry has set an ambitious net-zero electricity consumption plan for coal and lignite PSUs. Recognizing the pivotal role of renewables in mitigating environmental impact, the Ministry is actively promoting the deployment of both rooftop solar and ground-mounted solar projects across mining facilities. According to an official statement, the innovative plans are underway to develop solar parks within the reclaimed mining areas as well as other suitable lands, leveraging underutilized land resources for sustainable energy generation. This strategic initiative is aligned with the government's updated NDC target to achieve 50 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for 114 National Highway projects across the country worth about Rs 1 lakh crore.

Among key National Highway (NH) projects, Modi inaugurated the Haryana section of the landmark Dwarka Expressway. 

The total length of Dwarka Expressway is 29 km, out of which 18.9 km falls in Haryana, while the remaining 10.1 km is in Delhi. This expressway will help improve traffic flow and ease congestion between Delhi and Gurugram on NH-48.

The prime minister also held a road show here.

On March 9, 2019 the then Union ministers, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, and Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stone for the Dwarka Expressway.

NTPC and its renewable energy arm NGEL have each signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RVUNL) in Jaipur on March 10. The MoU between NTPC and RVUNL is to explore opportunities for adding supercritical units to the existing Chhabra Thermal Power Plant. Additionally, the parties aim to implement measures to enhance efficiency and reduce the power generation cost of the plant's existing units. The MoU also includes the undertaking of 15-year to 20-year annuity-based Renovation and Modernization (R&M) of old thermal units of RVUNL, by NTPC or its affiliates. The MoU has been signed by NTPC's Executive Director (BD, IBD & Consultancy) R Sarangapani and RVUNL's Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Devender Shringi. The MoU between NTPC’s renewable energy arm NGEL and RVUNL is for the development of Renewable Energy Projects up to 25 GW capacity and Green Hydrogen Derivatives up to 1 million Tons capacity, both in the state of Rajasthan. The MoU has been signed by NGEL's Chief Executive Officer Rajiv Gupta and RVUNL's Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Devender Shringi.

A subsidiary of state-owned power producer SJVN, SJVN Green Energy, has entered into a long term pact to supply 600 MW solar electricity to Rajasthan.

The Power Usage Agreement is for 500 MW Solar Power from Bikaner Solar Power Project and the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) is for 100 MW Solar Power from Rajasthan Solar Power Project, both for a period of 25 years, a power ministry statement said.

According to the statement SJVN Green Energy Limited (SGEL), a wholly owned subsidiary of SJVN, has signed a Long Term Power Usage Agreement (PUA) for 500 MW Solar Power and a Long Term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for 100 MW Solar Power, with Rajasthan Urja Vikas and IT Services Limited (RUVITL) in Jaipur on March 10, 2024.

Under the Agreement, SGEL would supply 500 MW of power at a tariff of Rs. 2.57 per unit, from the 1,000 MW Bikaner Solar Power Project being developed by SGEL under Phase-II (Tranche-3) of the Central Public Sector Units Scheme.

REC Limited has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on March 10 in Jaipur with the Government of Rajasthan, to finance projects across power and non-power infrastructure sectors with an investment of up to Rs 20,000 crore per annum for a period of six years, extending up to 2030.

The MoU has been signed in the presence of several dignitaries including Chief Minister of Rajasthan Bhajan Lal Sharma; Deputy Chief Minister, Govt. of Rajasthan Diya Kumari; Minister of State for Energy, Government of Rajasthan Heera Lal Naagar; Chief Secretary of Government of Rajasthan Sudhansh Pant; Secretary, Ministry of Coal Amrit Lal Meena; REC CMD Vivek Kumar Dewangan; and CMDs from NTPC, Power Grid, NLC India, and Director, Coal India.

Union Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy RK Singh and Union Minister of Coal Prahlad Joshi addressed the ceremony via virtual conference and extended their best wishes for the initiatives undertaken by the Government of Rajasthan.

Speaking about the agreement, Dewangan said, "We are proud to collaborate with the Government of Rajasthan in its mission to enhance infrastructure development across the state. Through this partnership, we aim to support sustainable growth and address the evolving energy needs of the region along with the development of other infrastructure sectors."

Power distribution companies (DISCOMs) saw an improvement of 1 percentage point in AT&C (Aggregate Technical & Commercial) losses as the figure declined from 16.2 percent in FY2021-22 to 15.4 percent in FY2022-23, according to a rating report unveiled by Power Minister RK Singh on Monday. The AT&C losses were at 21.2 percent in FY2020-21. At least 43 out of 67 utilities saw an improvement in their AT&C losses, with 13 utilities recording a greater than five percent improvement — Ladakh PD, MSPDCL, PuVVNL, MVVNL, TPCODL, TPWODL, Mizoram PD, TCED, TPNODL, SBPDCL, DVVNL, NBPDCL and APSPDCL, showed the 12th Edition of Integrated Rating of Discoms.

Driven by replacement of defective meters, improved vigilance in the prevention of theft and segregation of agriculture feeders, billing efficiency improved to 87 percent in FY23 as opposed to 86.1 percent in FY22. Collection efficiency, which improved from 92.9 percent in FY2020-21 to 97.3 percent in FY2021-22, remained at the same figure.

Iron ore futures prices were mixed on Tuesday, as investors digested a raft of key economic targets set by policymakers in top consumer China's annual meeting of the National People's Congress.

The most-traded May iron ore contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) DCIOcv1 ended daytime trade 0.69% higher at 879.5 yuan ($122.17) a metric ton.

However, the benchmark April iron ore SZZFJ4 on the Singapore Exchange slipped 1.23% to $114.2 a ton as of 0718 GMT.

As widely expected, the Chinese government is targeting economic growth of around 5% this year, similar to last year, and announced plans to run a budget deficit of 3% of economic output compared to 3.8% last year, official reports showed.

It also plans to issue 1 trillion yuan in special ultra-long-term treasury bonds, which are not included in the budget.

"The government promised to issue ultra-long central government special bonds for the next few years, which is a positive surprise and should help mitigate concerns over local government funding shortages amid falling land sales and LGFV deleveraging," analysts at Goldman Sachs said in a note. Market participants had been closely monitoring whether there would be more stimulus unveiled at the NPC to restore market confidence and prop up the economy, which will also potentially generate more consumption for metals.

China increased its defence budget by 7.2% to $232 billion as it continues to pursue the modernization of its military amid ongoing tensions with Taiwan, the South China Sea disputes and the border frictions with India. The nation will remain the second highest spender on defence after the US and has allocated 1.67 trillion yuan (about USD 232 billion) for defence spending. The increase in terms of the percentage was the same as last year, a report by the PTI said.

In comparison to India, China’s 2024 defence budget was almost three times higher than that of India. India allocated about $74.8 billion for defence, which amounted to Rs 621,541 crore.

China has set an economic growth target of “around five percent” in 2024, the same goal as last year but far lower than previous decades.

Beijing has struggled to sustain its rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic as a property sector crisis and flagging consumption weigh on growth.

SJVN Limited through its wholly owned subsidiary, SJVN Green Energy Limited (SGEL), has secured a 200 MW Solar Project at a tariff of Rs 2.66 per unit in an e-Reverse auction conducted by Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL).

According to an official statement, this project is to be developed by SGEL on a build-own and operate basis at the tentative development cost of Rs 1100 crore. SJVN bagged the 200 MW capacity in the tariff-based competitive bidding for the development of solar projects in the 1125 MW Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Limited (GSECL) Solar Park at Khavda, Gujarat.

SJVN Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) Geeta Kapur informed that the project is expected to generate about 504 million units in the first year of commissioning and the cumulative energy generation over a period of 25 years would be about 11,732 million units. As per Request for Selection (RfS), the project shall be commissioned in a period of 18 Months from the date of signing of the Power Purchase Agreement which shall be signed between GUVNL and SGEL for 25 years. The commissioning of this project is expected to reduce 5,74,868 Tonnes of carbon emissions.

Chennai: Ministry of Coal secretary Amrit Lal Meena on Saturday said coal mines are in a diversification mode as mined out or de-coaled land is being used for setting up alternate sources of energy. The secretary, who was in Chennai to address a meeting on 'Make In India' initiatives in mining equipment, spoke on initiatives of the coal ministry in promoting alternative energy sources.

"NLC India has an installed capacity of 15,000MW of solar energy, which is the highest by any PSU in the country. NLC will explore possibilities of setting up alternate energy sources such as solar panels and windmills in states such as Rajasthan," Meena said.

He said NLC was in talks with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India to establish a small modular nuclear reactor, and the process was in its initial stages. "NLC established a pumped storage hydropower plant in de-coaled areas," Meena said.

On the rising cost of logistics for coal, Meena said the Union coal ministry was promoting rail-sea-rail routes to reduce cost of transportation. "The recently launched National Logistics Policy by the PM aims at reducing logistics cost from 14% of GDP to 8%," said Meena.

On March 3rd, Visakhapatnam witnessed a significant demonstration as employees of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), alongside leaders from various workers' unions and political parties, embarked on a Maha Padyatra. Their collective demand was for the Centre to retract its privatization plans for the plant, a move stirring widespread concern among the workforce and the local community. 

The march started from the protest camp at Kurmannapalem, culminating at the GVMC Gandhi statue, with participants voicing their opposition through slogans and placards. Notable political entities like the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Communist Party of India (CPI), and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) were present, bolstering the workers' unions' demands. The rally's core message was clear – privatization of VSP is unacceptable, and political parties must take a definitive stance against it in their election manifestos.

Cochin Shipyard Limited has carried out the steel cutting of the first vessel in a series of two vessels of the Sea Shuttle zero emission feeder container project being built for Samskip, the Netherlands-based logistics firm. The function coincided with the sustainability day celebrations of Samskip held at their headquarters in Rotterdam. The order is awarded to CSL by Samskip Group Norway.

The Sea Shuttle project is one of the First Zero Emission Feeder Container Vessel in the world using Green Hydrogen as the fuel. This is an ambitious project admitted under the Norwegian Government green funding programme aimed at emission-free transport solutions by adopting sustainable path breaking future technologies. In zero emission modes, each vessel is expected to achieve around 25,000 tonnes of CO2 reduction per year.

One of the pressing issues highlighted by industrialists is the escalating power tariff. The current government's imposition of surcharges has led to a significant increase in power costs, with industrialists facing a rise of INR 1 per unit. This hike, compared to the previous tariff fixed at INR 5 per unit, has exacerbated financial strains on the sector.

With the beginning of the Punjab assembly's budget session, optimism has surged in the Mandi Gobindgarh and Fatehgarh Sahib's iron and steel industry, which has been anticipating positive announcements and relief measures. The industrial community, particularly small-scale enterprises, eagerly hopes for a revival after enduring "neglect and challenges" in recent years.

Coal India Limited (CIL) Chairman PM Prasad on Friday commended Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) for enhanced performance during the current financial year 2023-24.

Chairing a Review Meeting of MCL at the corporate office in Sambalpur, Prasad commended the company for effectively addressing operational challenges and maintaining steady growth to achieve annual targets. Acknowledging MCL as a cornerstone of Coal India's performance, the Chairman extended appreciation to every member of Team MCL.

Highlighting the pivotal role of MCL in ensuring the energy security of the nation, Prasad expressed optimism about the company's ongoing growth.

Key senior officers present at the review meeting included MCL CMD Uday A Kaole, Director (Personnel) Keshav Rao, Director (Finance) AK Behura and Director (Technical/Projects & Planning) AK Bapat.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was in Hooghly, West Bengal, on Friday inaugurated Indian Oil’s 518-km Haldia-Barauni Crude Oil Pipeline developed at a cost of about Rs 2,790 crore. This pipeline passes through Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The pipeline will supply crude oil to Barauni Refinery, Bongaigaon Refinery and Guwahati Refinery from Haldia port in a safe, cost-efficient, and environment-friendly manner. The Prime Minister also inaugurated Indian Oil’s LPG Bottling plant with a capacity of 120 TMTPA at Vidyasagar Industrial Park, Kharagpur. Developed at a cost of more than Rs 200 crore, the LPG bottling plant will be the first LPG bottling plant in the region. It will supply LPG to about 14.5 lakh customers in West Bengal.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister noted the rapid growth of 21st-century India and the resolution of making India Viksit by 2047. He reiterated the priorities of empowerment of youth, women, farmers and the poor. “We have always strived for the welfare of the poor and its results are now visible to the world,” he said.