By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, MAR 05, 2024: THE Prime Minister, Narendra Modi inaugurated, dedicated to the nation and laid the foundation stone of multiple developmental projects related to power, rail and road sectors worth more than Rs. 56,000 crores in Adilabad, Telangana yesterday.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister said that the land of Adilabad is becoming a witness to development projects related not only to Telangana but to the entire country as more than 30 development projects worth more than Rs 56,000 crores are either being dedicated to the nation or their foundation stones are being laid today. These projects include many projects related to energy, environment sustainability and road connectivity in the state.

The Prime Minister informed that the 800 MW capacity NTPC Unit 2 which has been inaugurated today will further boost the electricity generation capacity of Telangana.

The Prime Minister reiterated the mantra of nation's development through the development of the states. He said that with a better economy, trust in the country grows and states also benefit from that as they get investment. He mentioned the global buzz around the high growth rate of the Indian economy as India is the only major economy that has grown by 8.4 percent in the last quarter. "With this speed, India will become the world's third-largest economy", said the Prime Minister, which will also mean high growth for the economy of Telangana also, he added.

Governor of Telangana, Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan; Chief Minister of Telangana, Revantha Reddy and Union Minister, G Kishan Reddy were present on the occasion among others.

Read more: Prime Minister dedicates to nation and lays foundation stone for multiple power projects across the country

The list of projects which the Prime Minister inaugurated, dedicated to the nation and for which he laid the foundation stone today are as given below.

The total cost of the 32 projects comes out to be Rs. 56,065 crores.

The Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy R. K. Singh joined the programme from the Power Grid substation in Maharani Bagh, New Delhi. Addressing the gathering before the commencement of the event in Adilabad, the Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister recalled that many mega projects in generation, transmission and distribution have been successfully undertaken in the last decade, to fulfil the aspirations of a rapidly growing nation. " The government has addressed the critical issue of power deficiency by adding more than 196 GW of generation capacity since April 2014, transforming our country from power deficit to power sufficient. The government has increased the generation capacity from 248554 MW in March 2014 to 428299 MW in December 2023. As a result of these measures, the availability of power supply in rural areas has increased from 12.5 Hours in 2015 to 20.6 Hours in 2023. The power supply in urban areas has increased to 23.78 Hours in 2023."

Complimenting Power Grid employees and the power sector PSUs and stakeholders, the Power Minister said that this growth has been possible because of their contribution. Highlighting the synergistic relationship between the growth of the power sector and of the economy, the Minister said that the nation would not have been able to grow as fast without strengthening of the power sector. " In order to accommodate the substantial capacity addition, the Government of India planned and added 1,89,052 circuit kilometers (ckm) of transmission lines, between 2013-14 to 2022-23, connecting the whole country into one grid running on one frequency with the capability of transferring 1,16,540 MW from one corner of the country to another, also further integrating the whole country into one national market."

The Minister added that Government has made concerted efforts to make Power Sector viable. "The AT&C losses have come down from 25.72% in 2014-15 to 15.40% in 2022-23. All current payment of Gencos are up-to-date and the legacy dues of Gencos have come down from Rs. 1,39,947 crores in June 2022 to Rs. 49,451 crores on 31st January, 2024. The subsidy payment to DISCOMS on account of subsidies announced by State Government are up-to-date."

The Minister said that India will keep growing fast and that the power sector will have to keep adding capacity and undertaking reforms in the coming years as well.

Also read:

- Prime Minister to dedicate to the nation and lay foundation stone for NTPC's Power Projects worth more than Rs. 30,000 crores

- Details of POWERGRID's 7 projects which were dedicated to the nation and 1 project for which foundation stone has been laid

- Details of SJVN's 7 projects which were dedicated to the nation and for which foundation stone has been laid

- Details of NHPC's projects which were inaugurated / for which foundation stone has been laid