Page 13 - Banking Finance March 2019

ROUNDUP

UDAN: seaplanes to fly Government nod for KUSUM, 40GW solar rooftop
on 18 air routes scheme
Seaplanes will fly on 18 air routes The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved two schemes for
among the promotion of solar power — one for the agricul-
235 routes ture sector and the other for rooftops. The long-
awarded un- pending KUSUM scheme (Kisan Urja Suraksha
der the evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan) was approved by the
government's CCEA.
am bi ti ou s The scheme consists of three components: 1. Set-
regional connectivity scheme that ting up 10 GW grid-connected renewable power
will also connect 16 unserved air- plants, each of 500KW to 2MW in rural areas; 2. Installation of 1.75 million
ports and six water aerodromes. Civil standalone off-grid solar water pumps to fulfill irrigation needs of farmers not
Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu said
connected to the grid; and 3. Solarisation of existing 1 million grid-connected
as many as 69.30 lakh seats would be agriculture pumps to make farmers independent of the grid supply and also sell
added on an annual basis across the
235 routes. More than 1 lakh seats surplus power to distribution companies and get extra income.
would be through seaplanes. With all three, the scheme aims to add solar capacity of 25,750 MW by 2022.
The total central financial support provided under the scheme would be Rs 34,422
Besides, the civil aviation ministry
announced that SpiceJet would oper- crore, said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley while addressing the media after the
ate international flights under UDAN meeting of the Union Cabinet.
from Guwahati to Dhaka and
Bangkok. SpiceJet, IndiGo, Jet Air- Employees' Provident Fund interest rate raised to
ways, Air India subsidiary Airline Al- 8.65%
lied Services Ltd or Alliance Air, and
Turbo Aviation are among the opera- The Central Board of Trustees of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation
tors that have bagged the routes in (EPFO) has recommended increasing the interest
the third round. Other operators rate on Employees' Provident Fund for 2018-19 to
that have been awarded routes are 8.65% as against 8.55% in the preceding year. The
Andaman Airways Pvt Ltd, Aviation move, once approved by the finance ministry will
Connectivity and Infrastructure De- benefit six crore EPFO subscribers. EPFO will have a
velopers Pvt Ltd, Ghodawat Enter- surplus of Rs 151 crore as on date after doling out
prises Pvt Ltd, Heritage Aviation, higher interest rates.
Turbo Megha Airways Pvt Ltd and
Zexus Air Services Pvt Ltd. Indian economy to grow at 7.3% in 2019, 2020
Six water aerodromes would be con- Moody's Credit rating agency said that India is poised to grow at a relatively
nected with UDAN flights. They are stable pace in 2019 and 2020. "We expect
at Guwahati River Front and India's economy to grow around 7.3 per cent in
Umrangso Reservoir (Assam), both years," the agency stated. In its quarterly
Nagarjuna Sagar (Telangana), 'Global Macro Outlook for 2019 and 2020' re-
Sabarmati River Front, Shatrunjay port, Moody's said, "While not immune, India is
Dam, and Statue of Unity (Gujarat).
less exposed to a slowdown in global manufac-
A ministry official said seaplanes
would operate on 18 routes. turing trade growth than other major Asian
Choubey said the Viability Gap Fund- economies and emerging markets.
ing (VGF) requirements for the total The government spending announced ahead of elections this year (due by May)
seats -- 69.30 lakh -- under the lat- will support near-term growth." The agency further said, "Indian household
est round are estimated to be spending growth will remain stable. A recent positive development is a pickup
around Rs 1,167 crore. in investment spending and exports, after weak growth in 2017.

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