Union Budget 2013: Some breathing space, but no spark

NEW DELHI: There’s some breathing space and hope for the power sector. But, nothing to make imported gas affordable for generation.
Power projects can now avail of the tax break if they are completed by March 2014 instead of March 31, 2013. The extension would drive promoters to complete ongoing projects quickly. But Akhil Sambhar of Ernst & Young said this was not enough to attract fresh investments.
Duties have been equalized on steam and bituminous coal used for generation. Now, both would attract 2% customs and 2% countervailing duty. But Debasish Mishra of Deloitte said the same percentage of Customs duty could push up coal price and generation costs by 5-6 paise per unit and widen the price differential with domestic coal-fired power.
Hope came in the promise to start private partnership with Coal India Ltd for ramping up production. But this would be a long trek. In the meantime, there’s no option but to import coal and pool it with domestic output to average out the price and keep power tariffs within consumers’ reach.
Union Budget 2013
Budget news 2013
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