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					</table><p>India’s Minister for New and Renewable Energy (<a href="https://mnre.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MNRE</a>) R K Singh said that the country is aiding farmers with millions of solar water pumps while providing them with ammonia-based fertilizers by producing sufficient green ammonia— which will ultimately also cut India’s dependence on gas imports.</p>
<p>He urged the developed nations to help smallholder farmers in developing countries with cheaper access to irrigation, fertilizers, and markets. Singh was addressing ministers from different countries at the 53<sup>rd</sup> World Economic Forum (<a href="https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WEF</a>) annual meeting in Davos.</p>
<p>Under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) program, which was <a href="https://mercomindia.com/kusum-1-75-mn-solar-pumps-solarize-1-mn-water-pumps/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">launched</a> in 2019, India has been providing central financial support with an outlay of ₹334.2 billion (~$4.6 billion) to the farmers.</p>
<p>Under Component A of the KUSUM scheme, individual farmers, cooperatives, and farmer producer organizations with cultivable or barren lands can install solar projects of 500 kW to 2 MW in size. Under Component B, individual agrarians are getting government aid to install standalone solar pumps of up to 7.5 HP. Under Component C, individual farmers can avail the government support to solarize pumps of up to 7.5 HP.</p>
<p>Under the PM-KUSUM Component B program, over 800,000 standalone solar pumps were <a href="https://mercomindia.com/daily-wrap-up-ntpc-commissions-230-mw-solar-tamil-nadu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allocated</a> to different states by the MNRE.</p>
<p>In October last year, MNRE <a href="https://mercomindia.com/daily-news-wrap-up-tenders-clauses-kusum-solar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">amended</a> tender provisions for empaneling vendors under Component B of the PM-KUSUM.</p>
<p>The ministry had also <a href="https://mercomindia.com/separate-bank-guarantee-not-needed-for-kusum-projects/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scrapped</a> the performance bank guarantee requirement for the solarization of agricultural feeders early last year.</p>
<p>Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Tran Hong Ha, agreed with Singh and added, “Farmers in developing countries are usually not wealthy and need partnership among all stakeholders – producers, consumers and others along the value chain – in order to contribute knowledge and share profits.”</p>
<p>Mercom had previously <a href="https://mercomindia.com/agrivoltaics-solve-land-scarcity-problem-solar-installations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> on how agrivoltaics could also help solve the land scarcity problem for solar projects while supplying the required energy.</p>
<p>Early this year, the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) <a href="https://mercomindia.com/seci-bids-off-grid-solar-water-pumps-india/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invited</a> bids to commission 666,250 off-grid solar water pumps with a capacity of 1-10 HP in select states across India under Component B of the PM KUSUM program.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/gourav-mishra/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Gourav Mishra</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/WhatsApp-Image-2022-04-06-at-6.37.25-PM-1-1.jpeg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Gourav,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gourav-mishra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Gourav.</a></p>
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<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/WhatsApp-Image-2022-04-06-at-6.37.25-PM-1-1.jpeg" width="89" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gourav-mishra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gourav</a> is a staff reporter with Mercom India with over six years of experience in various roles with NewsX, The New Indian Express, IBTimes India, and U.S., Republic, and Analytics India Magazine. Gourav has a Master&#8217;s in journalism from Jain University, Bengaluru. <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gourav-mishra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Gourav Mishra</a></div>
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India Making Efforts to Push Clean Energy Use in Farming: Power Minister

<p>The National Solar Energy Federation of India (<a href="http://nsefi.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NSEFI</a>) has sought the intervention of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), asking it to issue a direction to the National Thermal Power Corporation (<a href="https://www.ntpc.co.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NTPC</a>) to exempt MSMEs from the bid security and earnest money deposit (EMD) for its solar tender.</p>
<p>NSEFI, the umbrella organization of solar companies, in its letter to Giriaj Singh, the minister of state (MSMEs), has mentioned that NTPC has not exempted MSMEs from the payment of EMD for its engineering, procurement, and construction tender for <a href="https://mercomindia.com/ntpc-floats-tender-923-mw-solar-projects-dcr-category/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">923 MW of solar projects</a>. The estimated cost of the project is ₹50 billion (~$704 million).</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/NTPC.png"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-17239" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/NTPC.png" alt="NTPC" width="365" height="203" srcset="https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/NTPC.png 365w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/NTPC-300x167.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 365px) 100vw, 365px" /></a></p>
<p>NSEFI requested the minister to issue “suitable clarification to NTPC,” enabling the MSME registered companies to submit their bids with the exemption of EMD. The letter has also been marked to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).</p>
<p>Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Act was published in June 2016. It aims to facilitate the promotion, development, and enhancement of the competitiveness of micro, small, and medium enterprises and the ‘Make in India’ concept.</p>
<p>In its letter to the minister, the NSEFI states, “With various preferential business-conducive provisions of the Act, it is bound to give Make in India concept a much-needed stimulus by promoting the participation of MSMEs in building public infrastructure.”</p>
<p>The federation also mentions that as per the Gazette notification of March 2012 for Public Procurement Policy, those who are registered under MSMEs are exempted for the earnest money deposit and document fee.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, when Mercom contacted a senior member of NSEFI, he informed that they have not yet received any response from the ministry.</p>
<p>Previously, the solar MSME segment has <a href="https://mercomindia.com/solar-msmes-benefiting-safeguard-duty-domestic-content/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">opined</a> to Mercom that the government has launched various policy measures to support the domestic solar manufacturing industry, but they have ended up creating more hurdles rather than simplifying issues.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/anjana/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Anjana Parikh</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Anjana2.png" width="112" height="121" />Anjana is a news editor at Mercom India. Before joining Mercom, she held roles of senior editor, district correspondent, and sub-editor for The Times of India, Biospectrum and The Sunday Guardian. Before that, she worked at the Deccan Herald and the Asianlite as chief sub-editor and news editor. She has also contributed to The Quint, Hindustan Times, The New Indian Express, Reader’s Digest (UK edition), IndiaSe (Singapore-based magazine) and Asiaville. Anjana holds a Master’s degree in Geography from North Bengal University, and a diploma in mass communication and journalism from Guru Ghasidas University, Bhopal.</p>
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Solar MSMEs Seek Government Intervention to Waive Fees in NTPC’s 923 MW Tender

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