Published on March 27, 2012
New Delhi : Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Monday said that US companies are welcome to set up joint venture entities for making power equipment in the country.
“They (American companies) are welcome to come here,” Shinde told reporters in New Delhi on the sidelines of a conference on power sector.
He was commenting on the US Commerce Secretary John Bryson’s remarks that import duties are high in India.
Shinde said that many companies including those from France, Germany and Japan are having joint venture entities for power equipment manufacturing in the country.
Larsen & Toubro-Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, JSW Energy-Toshiba Corp, BGR Energy-Hitachi Power Europe and Bharat Forge-Alstom SA are among the power equipment making joint ventures.
Speaking on the occasion, Joint Secretary at the Power Ministry I C P Keshari said that about 53,000 MW generation capacities has been added so far in the current Five-Year Plan.
“By the end of this Plan period (ending March 31, 2012), we hope to have about 55,000 MW,” he noted.
This would be much less than 62,000 MW target set in the mid-term review of the Plan.
Earlier, the 11th Five-Year Plan had aimed to achieve an additional generation capacity of 78,700 MW.
The power sector is grappling with a raft of problems including fuel shortage and high prices of coal.