Rooftop solar projects in India stand to be incentivized if a proposal made by the Minister for Coal, Power and New and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal is realized.
Also, the government is reportedly in talks with banks to provide loans for clean energy initiatives such as solar rooftop installations as part of home loans in future.
Goyal said he would discuss introduction of tax incentives for purchase of rooftop solar panels with Finance Minister Arun Jaitely. He made the statement in response to a question raised during Talkathon, a program on state television.
The minister also added that reduction of interest rates on loans for solar panels would be considered.
Earlier, the government had introduced FAME, a scheme aimed at promoting the manufacture and use of electric vehicles.
And there are plans to introduce a mobile application to request technical assistance concerning installation and maintenance of solar rooftop installations such as power generators, heaters and cookers.
The initiative is being organized by CII under Green Jobs Sector Skill Council and Surya Mitra Initiative. The government plans to train 50,000 youths to be called Surya Mitras across the country for the purpose.
Goyal also indicated that construction rules would be amended to facilitate adoption of clean power and energy conservation in large commercial, industrial and residential projects.
The incumbent government has set a renewable energy expansion target of 175 gigawatts by 2022. The capacity will be comprised of 100-gigawatt solar, 60-gigawatt wind, 10-gigawatt biomass and 5-gigawatt of small hydro projects.
Ajith Kumar S