India poised to join China as global leaders in renewables: Report
New Delhi, May 22: India is poised to join China as the two global leaders in the renewable energy technology-led transformation, a US-based research institute said on Tuesday.
India doubled solar installs to 10 GW in 2017-18 and is rapidly up-scaling capacity to strive towards the ambitious and transformational 100 GW of solar by 2022, Director of Energy Finance Studies of the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) Tim Buckley said.
India's "scheme for development of solar parks" is becoming a successful model to attract foreign capital, says the report "Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets".
The world's largest solar project to-date at 2,225 megawatt (MW) is under construction at the Bhadla Industrial Solar Park in Rajasthan.
This is more than double the largest fully operational solar park in India, that being the 1,000 MW Kurnool Ultra Mega Solar Park in Andhra Pradesh.
The year 2017 saw the commissioning of the world's largest floating solar project Sungrow's 40 MW development in Anhui Province in China.
But as an illustration of the rapid scaling up of solar, two 150 MW floating solar projects are due for commissioning in China in 2018.
Given land constraints, India's new policy target for 10,000 MW of floating solar nationally is a logical and commendable initiative to leverage this new innovation to enhance solar application and value proposition, said the report.
The report details some of the world's largest utility-scale, concentrated solar power, rooftop solar, floating solar, solar with battery storage projects, corporate renewable power purchase deals and utilities that lead on the renewable energy front.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance reports global solar installations total 98 GW in 2017, 31 per cent more than the previous year.
China installed 53 GW in 2017, over half the global total deployed in 2017.
"As major corporations sign on to such deals, they continue to look to 'green' their entire supply chains, many of which sit in emerging markets. This activity helps expand access to capital in markets, which is often a key constraint," co-author Kashish Shah said in a statement.
India's National Electricity Plan aims to reduce thermal power from 67 per cent of capacity in 2017 to just 43 per cent by 2027.
Experts say major solar energy tenders are occurring every week in India at prices now consistently 10-20 per cent below the cost of existing domestic thermal power generation and 50 per cent below new imported coal-fired power.
In a major endorsement of India's solar mission, Tata Power this month embraced renewables as the way forward with a $5 billion plan, like the NTPC.
"Banks clogged with thermal power plant bad debts won't keep lending to this stranded asset sector; painful for India, but a positive for the transition to renewables," Buckley told here.
Coal plants by NTPC and Adani are being retrofitted with pollution emissions controls and end of life polluters are being shut, 7 GW in the last two years alone.
The largest power plant in India, Adani's Mundra 4.6 GW import coal plant has been turned off since February 2018, unviable to run along with Tata's Mundra 4 GW import coal plant, a $9 billion stranded asset.
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Centre spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print media ads for RSS centenary, reveals RTI
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.
The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.
Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.
RTI reply shows Min of Culture Govt of India spent a Whopping Rs 76L,13K,129 on Advertisement in Print Media on occasion of 100 yrs of #RSS
— AJAY Basudev Bose (@AjayBos93388306) April 16, 2026
When Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??@RSSorg… pic.twitter.com/dW4IUtdNCg
Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”
Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.
In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”
"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added.
Why is public money being used to serve a private ideological project?
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) April 16, 2026
Modi Sarkar spent ₹76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS.
Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to… pic.twitter.com/EoZ6Pim3IM
According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.
Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.
