Aiming to make India a lucrative destination for investment in the renewable energy sector, Minister for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal on Monday said the government will protect and encourage investments in the country.
He assured investors that though it is pro-poor, the Government understands the problems of investors and will act as a facilitator.
“For a new investment destination, the prerequisite is an atmosphere which makes to do business easier, consistency in policies, bankable contracts and prevalence of rule of law in the country,” the minister said.
Mr. Goyal was speaking at the three-day RE-Invest 2015 summit, which is being attended by 2800 delegates from 41 countries.
India has a set a target of 15 percent generation from renewable energy by 2020.
During his address, Michael R. Bloomberg, UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Cities & Climate Change said urged India’s private sector and foreign investors to continue developing and investing in the clean energy market which create knowledge-intensive jobs and support the nation’s goals, an official release said.
Meanwhile, talking to reporters, the minister said government expects more aggressive bidding for coals blocks as the mines on offer are already producing.
“Certainly one must appreciate that these (mines on offer) are producing mines. So there will be more aggressive bids for these mines as we move towards mines which are not very easy to operate or which are in more remote areas," he said.
Today is the third day of the coal auctions that began last week and will last till February 22.
The government had on Sunday received 130 preliminary bids from companies like Essar Power, Hindalco, Adani Power and Jindal Power for 21 coal blocks on offer in the second tranche of ongoing auction.
