The government’s smart city programme will lead to urban transformation and also help in economic growth, Urban Development Secretary Rajiv Gauba said. He said that smart technologies should be incorporated in existing cities. Launched on June 25, 2015, the Smart Cities Mission aims to develop 100 smart cities across the country in a five-year period. The government has earmarked Rs 48,000 crore for the development of these cities.

Publication: Financial Express

The price of solar power touched a new low on Wednesday in the bidding held for the Bhadla Solar Park in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur district. Companies looking to put up a 250-megawatt (Mw) unit there put a bid of Rs 2.62 a unit, lower than the average price of coal-based power in the country. This could mean thin margins for developers; Rs 2.62 could be the starting point for a further low when bidding for another 500 Mw at the park comes up on Thursday.

Publication: Business Standard

Solar power tariffs in India reached another historic low of Rs. 2.62 per kwH, becoming cheaper than those at many coal-fired plants, at the latest auction at the Adani Renewable Energy Park in Rajasthan. The winners of the 250-MW projects auctioned by the Solar Energy Corp. of India (SECI) were Phelan Energy Group of South Africa, which won 50 MW at Rs. 2.62 per unit, Avaada Power Pvt Ltd that won 100 MW at Rs.2.62, and SBG Cleantech, which was awarded the remaining 100 MW at a tariff one paisa higher at Rs.2.63 per kwH. Avaada Power was set up by Vineet Mittal, who formerly headed Welspun’s renewables business before it was sold to Tata Power.

Publication: The Economic Times

Undoubtedly, electric vehicles are the way forward and India too must adopt the technology soon. But there are many environmental and infrastructural barriers before we can take the big leap. Recently Piyush Goyal, Minister of State with Independent Charge for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines, opined that by 2030, India must move towards self-sufficient electric vehicles that can replace the sale and use of petrol and diesel vehicles. The outlook of the Minister was met with a lot of skepticism as 2030 is just 13 years away, which gives India a very short run-up to switch to an all-electric transport system.

Publication: Daily Pioneer

Carmakers readying a salvo of electric cars will be stung by ramp-up costs until about 2025, amid an industry-wide push to make the vehicles more appealing to the mass market, according to automotive supplier Continental AG. “High battery costs, limits to driving ranges and charging times mean that electric cars won’t have an economic advantage over combustion engines until 2025,” Continental’s Chief Financial Officer Wolfgang Schaefer said in a phone interview.

Publication: The Indian Express

Some time ago, a report cited the Indian government’s intention to shift to electric vehicles. The government was reportedly in talks with car makers to explore the viability of leasing electric vehicles and setting up proper supporting infrastructure to promote the use of clean energy vehicles, and shift to EVs completely in about 15 years.

Publication: Digit

Now you can get technologically advanced handy charger for your electric vehicles (EVs), which you can carry in the two-wheeler itself. President Pranab Mukherjee will launch these indigenously developed EV chargers on Thursday. The science and technology ministry has partly funded the research and development of this product under Make in India initiative.

Publication: The Times of India