“While healthcare, infrastructure and development of human capital remained the main focus of Budget 2021, FM Sitharaman made a few significant announcements for the RE sector.
We appreciate the government’s attempt to boost the RE sector, INR 2,500 crore has been allocated to Solar Energy Corporation and Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency. FM has also announced that a framework will be provided to bring in a more level-playing field and break the monopoly of incumbent companies in power distribution. This is a commendable move, and we hope that this benefits the end-consumer. Further, Rs 3.06 lakh crore has been earmarked to assist Discoms for infrastructure creation.
We are happy to see that there will be an increase in duties on imported solar inverters and solar lanterns. On the flip side, it is disappointing to note that there is no mention of Basic Customs Duty on solar panels – a longstanding appeal from the industry – whose implementation is pending since the last budget. Given that the safeguard duty ends in July, it leaves the solar developers a large window of opportunity to import and stock modules from outside India, resulting in a huge blow to domestic solar manufacturers.
A passing mention of an additional allocation under PLI scheme was made. While there is still no clarity on what the scheme entails, we hope that this will open up some avenues for local players and the ecosystem.”
