The Cabinet on Wednesday approved the infusion of Rs.1500 crore in IREDA (Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited, as per the announcement by Anurag Thakur, the Union Minister.
The minister mentioned in his statement that the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited holds importance in the field of renewable energy in the nation. The Agency was developed to finance renewable energy. The portfolio of the Agency has gone up from Rs.8800 crore to Rs. 28000 crore in the past six years.
He further added that according to the guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank of India, the loan can only be lent on twenty percent of the net worth of the agency. Considering the net worth of IREDA is Rs. 3000 crores, the loan that can be lent up to it is only Rs. 600 crore. The decision to lend the money to the agency will lead to enabling of loans up to Rs. 12000 crore in the renewable energy sector of India. This decision will also help to create a renewable energy capacity of 3500 to 4000 MegaWatts by the Indian Public Sector Units (PSUs).
Additionally, the union cabinet has also given its nod to the grant of ex-gratia payment of the difference between simple interest and compound interest for 6 months to the borrowers in some specified loan amounts. The approval for the extension of the tenure of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis was also given for 3 years beyond the 31st of March. The Commission was constituted on 12 August 1994 as a Statuary Body by an act of Parliament. It was initially made for three years but the validity of the act was given extension up to February 2004 by passing an amendment bill in the Parliament.
Since February 2004, the commission has been acting as a non-statutory body in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The tenure has been getting extensions from Government Resolutions every now and then. The role of the commission is to recommend specific programs of action towards eradicating the inequalities in status and opportunities for the sanitation workers to the Central Government.
The infusion is expected to enhance the net worth of IREDA and also provide additional financing to the renewable energy sector of the country. In regard to the decision, the central government explained that the approval will support the capital-to-risk weighted assets ratio in the facilitation of its lending and borrowing operations. This will also enable the employment generation of up to 10,200 jobs every year. This infusion will help in the reduction of emissions of around 7.5 million tons of Carbon Dioxide per year.
