John Podesta says that India is a valuable partner and both countries support each other in building resilient supply chains and investment-led partnership strategies
Our Bureau
New Delhi
Union Minister for Power Manohar Lal, accompanied by Power and New and Renewable Energy Minister Shripad Naik on Thursday held a meeting with a US delegation to discuss energy collaboration between the two countries.
During the discussions, the Power Minister emphasised the longstanding bilateral partnership between India and the United States, highlighting the shared commitment to a ‘clean’ energy future that fosters economic growth and development, the Ministry of Power said in a statement.
The union minister further states that the Ministry of Power is committed to strengthening this partnership.
Emphasising the need for collaboration, he said that India and US engagements under the ‘Power & Energy Efficiency Pillar’, which is led by the Ministry of Power under the Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP), are important to realise our goals to achieve the energy transition
John Podesta, who led the US delegation said that India is a valuable partner and both countries support each other in building resilient supply chains and investment-led partnership strategies.
He also remarked that India and the US can collaborate on areas like clean energy, energy storage systems and energy efficiency. He further said that the US can support India in enhancing its manufacturing capacity.
During the meeting, both sides explored the possibility of technical exchanges on efforts to upgrade grid transmission to handle future load growth.
Discussions also covered policy consultations and potential financial support to advance these modernisation efforts.
In addition, the ways to enhance the manufacturing capacity were also discussed during the meeting.
Both sides explored possibilities of state-to-state partnerships on long-duration energy storage studies, with further collaboration on grid-scale battery storage solutions, as per the statement.
Going further, the discussions highlighted the importance of stimulating manufacturing projects and policies to increase India’s capacity to build, deploy, and export high-efficiency air conditioning systems and fans.
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FM asks Regional rural banks to ensure credit to small & micro enterprises
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday asked Regional rural banks (RRBs) to ensure easy credit to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). She asked the RRBs to become more customer-friendly and leverage their local connections to further improve performance.
All RRBs have devised customised MSME products aligning with cluster activities. However, they need to regularly review their credit portfolio in that segment, she said.
The Finance Minister chaired a meeting to review the performance of nine Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) of the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, in Udaipur today.
The review meeting focused on business performance, upgrading digital technology services, fostering business growth in MSME clusters, and deepening financial inclusion in rural areas.
Union Finance Minister also highlighted that Sponsor Banks and RRBs must recognise the challenges that lie ahead, especially maintaining asset quality, expanding digital services, and ensuring robust corporate governance are the areas that require continued focus.
Sitharaman noted the lower offtake of the MUDRA scheme in the Bundelkhand region and directed the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) to hold specific meetings with State Government officials, Sponsor Banks and RRBs to improve the performance of the MUDRA scheme along with other financial inclusion schemes in Bundelkhand region and aspirational districts.
Similarly, RRBs were directed to identify potential trades under the PM Vishwakarma scheme in their areas of operation to provide credit.
RRBs were also directed to increase their share in ground-level agriculture credit disbursement and achieve the stated objectives of Priority Sector Lending.
The Union Finance Minister acknowledged the satisfactory improvement in the technology upgradation of the nine RRBs of the Western Central region since 2022 – the year when regular review of RRBs started; and urged these RRBs to continue the momentum in future also.
