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At the time of bidding for the Gujarat UMPP and also in the Case-2 Bidding based on imported coal, the bidders had a choice to bid for an (indexed÷ fuel cost, which meant that any variations in fuel cost could be passed through to the procurers based on an indexation formula defined in the PPA.

Not just Indonesia, many countries, including Australia, have imposed regulations and taxes which impacted end-use companies that mined coal and commodities for purchase at cost of production. Higher taxes meant that input costs exceeded that on which the projects were constructed.

I would say we have only a modest share of nuclear power in the overall power. What is important is that we have indigenous technology, a self-contained ecosystem, all knowhow from siting to operating a nuclear power plant (NPP), and above all, a great safety record.

PV technology in India has completed more than 40 year and it is evolving continuously. Today, we occupy the position of a leader in the world's solar power market. India did a commendable job in the 1990s when manufacturing base was strengthened to over 300,000 smaller systems aggregated to 22 MW.

The Union Cabinet on May 17, 2017 gave its approval for construction of 10 nuclear units of the new indigenously developed 700 MWe (mega watt electric) pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) as part of its clean energy thrust.

Apart from the ongoing programmes such as RAPP and Kaiga, NPCIL is now talking about setting up 10 reactors simultaneously.

With India looking at solar playing a major role in the country's energy mix, an emerging sticking point is the imbalance between usage of imported v/s domestic PV panels for local projects.

Micro-grid can be defined as a small network of electricity users with a local source of supply that is usually attached to a centralised national grid but is able to function independently. From India's context, rural micro-grid is a small electricity network implemented at a village level with its own generation unit.

India has become a power surplus nation, albeit with certain caveats. In its wake, it has changed the whole paradigm of generation sources, with solar and wind hogging the spotlight and coal being relegated a bit.