Renewables Drove Installed Power Generation Growth Between FY21 And FY22: Economic Survey 2023

The total electricity generated, including that from captive plants during the year FY22 was 17.2 lakh GWh as compared to 15.9 lakh GWh during the FY21, of which 14.8 lakh GWh was generated by utilities and 2.3 lakh GWh in captive plants, according to the Economic Survey 2023.

The Survey said that the maximum rise in electricity generation between FY22 and FY21, was recorded in renewable energy resources for utilities and for captive plants.

"The total installed power capacity of utilities and captive power plants (industries having demand of 1 Mega Watt (MW) and above) was 482.2 GW on 31 March 2022 as compared to 460.7 GW on 31 March 2021, up by 4.7 per cent," according to the Survey.

"Installed capacity in utilities was 399.5 GW on 31 March 2022 as against 382.1 GW a year back (higher by 4.5 per cent). Thermal sources of energy make up the largest (59.1 per cent) share of total installed capacity in utilities, followed by renewable energy resources with 27.5 per cent and hydro with 11.7 per cent," it said.

The Survey noted that there has been a gradual transition in India’s energy sector from the conventional sources to the non-fossil fuel sources.

"India has put in place a target of achieving 50 per cent cumulative installed capacity for generating electric power from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030," it added.

"India is well on its way to fulfilling its commitments with the share of renewables in overall installed capacity growing at a fast pace," the Survey said, adding that this is a result of the various government initiatives aimed at supporting the renewable energy sector.

On developments in digital infrastructure, the Survey noted that in the coming years, "the availability and spread of digital infrastructure will contribute significantly to economic growth".

"Recognising this, the government’s Digital India programme, which aims to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy, envisions digital infrastructure as a core utility to every citizen," it said.

The focus areas include the availability of high-speed internet as a core utility for delivery of services to citizens, unique digital identity, enabling citizen participation in digital and financial space, shareable private space on a public cloud (citizens can digitally store their documents, certificates, etc. and share them with public agencies or others without the need to physically submit them), and a safe and secure cyber-space, according to the Economic Survey.

The emergence of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), aimed at improving financial literacy, innovation, entrepreneurship, employment generation, and empowering beneficiaries has played a critical role in uplifting the economy and bringing it to the stature where it stands today, the Survey said.

The three growth drivers that acted as catalysts for DPI growth were favourable demographics, vast expansion of the middle-class, and digital behaviour patterns. By leveraging these growth drivers, India has built a competitive digital economy that empowers every individual and business to transact paperless and cashless.

"Low-cost accessibility (Aadhaar), the success of citizen-centric services like Unified Payments Interface (UPI), large-scale adoption and reach (DigiLocker, MyGov), and the vaccine journey through Co-Win are important and successful milestones in India’s public digital infrastructure journey," it said.

Elaborating on UPI's success, the Economic Survey said that UPI accounted for 17 per cent of the country's total 3,100 crore digital transactions in 2019.

"The next fiscal year saw UPI’s share rise to more than 27 per cent as it processed 1,250 crore transactions out of 4,600 crore digital transactions. In FY22, UPI accounted for 52 per cent of the total 8,840 crore financial digital transactions," it said.

"On average, between FY19-22 (calendar year), growth in UPI-based transactions in value and volume terms have been 121 per cent and 115 per cent, respectively," the Survey noted.

Recently, in Dec 2022, UPI touched its highest-ever mark with 782 crore transactions worth Rs 12.8 lakh crore.

It further said that the success of UPI has not been restricted to India alone as NPCI, through its international arm NPCIL, is pushing for acceptance of RuPay/UPI powered apps, cross-border remittance and UPI-Like deployment in international markets such as Singapore, UAE, France, the Netherlands among others.