Budget '18: Power sector hopes for boost to domestic manufacturers

New Delhi [India], Jan 31 (ANI): As the government continues to lay emphasis for increased adoption of renewable energy, the power sector hopes for a much-needed thrust to domestic manufacture of equipments in this year's Union Budget.

In terms of solar power, the levy of safeguard duty on imports of solar equipment, if implemented on immediate basis, is projected to cause significant financial distress in the sector. Therefore, companies urge that this remain outside the purview of the Union Budget 2018-19.

Apart from this, here are some expectations from the sector:

"From the Budget 2018-19, we hope that there are no negative surprises that might stagger this exponential growth. The government should allow enough time for the industry to plan and get prepared for such significant regulatory change and not levy this on immediate basis to avoid significant financial distress on under construction projects. Additionally, while the direct and indirect tax benefits from renewable sector have been evoked, we do hope that the corporate taxes will be lowered in Budget 2018, which is in line with the Government's vision of a lower tax regime," said Nikunj Ghodawat, CFO, CleanMax Solar.

"Currently, importing machinery and manufacturing equipment incur a heavy duty, compared to the duty free import of finished products like Solar PV modules. If the upcoming budget was to address the issue, it would be beneficial for the industry and provide the necessitated support for domestic manufacturers to grow. Earmarking financial support in Budget 2018 for the solar manufacturing sector would be welcome, as it will help boost the manufacturing and value chain in the country, and in turn help with the energy security. It would also play a major role in reduction of any trade balance gap that might exist between India and other countries. Another aspect we expect the budget to address would be the start-ups in the renewable energy sector, who are front runners in bringing disruptive ideas, technologies and innovations," said Dr Hitesh Doshi, Chairman and Managing Director, Waaree Group.

"There is need to promote Research & Development (R&D) in electric vehicles to make them more efficient and have higher throughput. Looking forward that the government will announce incentives for private companies to invest more in R&D in these fields in Budget 2018. Higher efficiency and power in these vehicles will make it easy for them to become popular," said Pankaj Munjal, CMD, Hero Cycles.

On a related note, the Budget will be presented on Thursday by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

This will be the last full-fledged budget of the Narendra Modi-led government and the first post the rollout of the GST. (ANI)