Plan to bring rooftop solar scheme with KfW, says Nitin Gadkari

NEW DELHI: The government is working with German financing institution KfW to bring a rooftop solar scheme that will bring down the cost of the power generated to Rs 2.5 per unit, Union minister of micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) Nitin Gadkari said.

Gadkari said the government is working to bring down the cost of power, logistics and capital which will help reduce cost of production in India. “We are trying to reduce power cost. We are bringing a rooftop solar scheme with KfW, with the help of which the cost of power will be Rs 2.5 per unit at maximum,” Gadkari said at a FICCI Summit on MSME ecosystem here on Tuesday. “If we want to be competitive in the international market, we need to reduce capital, logistics and power costs. The industry must come forward to help achieve this,” Gadkari said.

He said the industry must also suggest policy measures which will help increase exports. “What tax relief can be provided which help increase exports. We want the industry to give a proposal to the government,” Gadkari said.

Gadkari said India is now working on developing its waterways, which will help bring down the cost of logistics.

In terms of access to capital, Gadkari said companies with better credit rating should be given a faster access to capital.

He said the industry must focus on putting their resources into rural and backward areas to help foster growth in these regions.

ROADS TO BE AUDITED
Speaking at a road safety event later on Tuesday, Gadkari, who is also the minister of road transport and highways, said his ministry has decided to audit roads, identify black spots to assess reasons behind accidents. “We have decided that we want to make the audit of the roads, concerning road accidents and road engineering,” Gadkari said.

He said the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is spending Rs 12,000 crore for improvement of 780 black spots, as his departments steps up efforts to bring down road accidents in the country. “We are also taking steps regarding automobile engineering,” Gadkari said. “At all NHAI roads, we need to understand whether the cause of an accident is road engineering or violation of law,” he said.