A World of Thoughts

Introduction   Let us have a quick recap of the solar cell technology that we have studied earlier in our engineering courses so that we are able to make a well-informed decision while buying a solar power plant.   1954 was the year when the first solar cell was fabricated in the Bell Labs, which was the first practical solar cell made. Of course, over one hundred years had flown by since the invention of the photovoltaic effect in 1839 by the French scientist Edmond Becquerel. (Don’t confuse him with Henri Becquerel who won the Nobel on Radioactivity in the early twentieth century).   Since then, many developments have taken place so much so, there are many buildings sporting a solar panel, today.   Mono, Poly and Thin-film   Technology wise we can differentiate the panels as Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline and Thin-film. Monocrystalline is the case of silicon crystallized and made into a single bar. From this bar, slices of wafers are made and cut to the required size. In case of Po

There is a surprising shift towards solar power plants these days from consumers!   The shift is not sudden, though the reasons have presented themselves for a long time.   For obvious reasons, price of power purchased through the Distribution Companies such as TANGEDCO in Tamil Nadu or BESCOM in Bangalore, etc., seem to be at least 20% higher than from other sources. Commercial as well as industrial establishments started picking up private power during the massive power shortage years, 2010 to 2015.   Post 2015, the power shortage yielded place to power surplus. The result was that while during the power shortage years, consumers wanted power even if it meant paying a higher price. Today, they want to buy power for the simple reason that they are helping them save on the cost of production.    With Distribution companies playing truant and making life miserable for most of the private power companies using all the methods under their ambit, consumers had to look up alternate ways. Si

Elections come and go, every five years in India.  Be it Central or State, the tempo that it builds certainly reaches a crescendo as it nears the D Day and then falls flat for the next five years! Silent and unresponsive! Many a time, as tax payers, we have felt that the government should have been more responsive to our sufferings. More responsive to the way taxes are collected. Many times, we feel that so many different taxes continue to be collected by the local bodies, central and state governments in various forms and shapes. We spend a few people on the job of tax related work! Tax payment do the government continues to be a major exercise! Neither is the tax collection easy on our pocket; nor is it easy on our mind. There is always a pressure of filing returns every month for GST (3 reports to be exact) and the TDS payments. Now we have TCS payments too! Instead of simplifying tax payment procedures aren't we getting harangued continuously on some ground are other for tax re

 Government of India has been pushing the financial inclusion for a long time. With newer and newer policies coming out of their ministries, it becomes all the more imperative that the policies of the government reach the citizens. While India Tax Payer, an association of tax payers, has been an advocacy group to feed the government with the thoughts of the people. Vice versa is also true. That is, India Tax Payer has also been distributing the thoughts of the government to the people! With many a company running under the risk of shutting down and a whole crowd of individuals finding it difficult to counter the vagaries of the virus, it is important that the policies of the government are given a proper shine and presented to the citizens, to maximise both understanding as well as implementation. It is interesting to note that, in line with what has been happening across the world, GoI as well promoted a Center for inclusive learning, the National Centre for Financial Education. This

End of August, Electricity Distribution Companies reach a new height, in performance. Outstanding payment dues to renewable power generators alone reach 10,900 Crores across the country. Only to Renewable generators, not including other types of generators! August also saw Government of India accepting to give TANGEDCO, one of the DisComs, a loan of nearly Rs.30,000 crores to set right its debt laden portfolio. But what worries most of us, the tax payers, is that, will this save the ailing Discom? What is the point in helping a leaky boat. However much you keep trying, it is going to continue leaking! The first effort should be to stop the leak, identify where and why it started leaking and then move on to support it. But, till today, there has not been any effort in plugging the leak anywhere. Instead, we are only ploughing in more and more money. What good is that going to bring to the company or to the people? Rs.30,000 Crores of tax payer money is again going to go down the drain.

TNERC's last order pertaining to Renewable Purchase Obligation stands at 14% of the total RPO requirement as a percentage of the consumed power. The Solar RPO stands at 5% which is a part of the total RPO specified earlier! This is pertaining to the financial year 2017-18. Beyond this date, TNERC proposed a change in the RPO fulfilment by the consumers. A draft of the regulatory order was proposed in November 2019 for the years 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22. Total RPO for 2019-20 was proposed to be set at 16.25% and Solar RPO at 6%. While for the years 2020-21 and 2021-22, the total RPO was set at 18.25% and 21% respectively. The Solar RPO was set at 8% and 10.50% respectively and will form a part of the total RPO fulfilment expected from the consumer. The nature or type of the consumers were not differentiated. It is worth to note what is happening in the other states. Maharashtra Regulatory body had already announced a RPO of 9% from 2020-21 to 2024-25. The regulatory body had ann

  1. “Sanjaya”, called out Dridharashtra.   It was the first day of Uttrayana, the winter Solstice. Almost, two months have gone by since his son, Dhuryodana met his end at the hands of Bhima. Dridharashtra could almost feel the impact of the mace on the thighs of his son. The pain that swept through him also went through the arms of the blind man and crept up to his heart!   Tears welled up in his eyes every time he thought about it and grimaced every time, as if he suffered the pain.   He heard the soft steps approaching him and could immediately recognize that it was Gandhari. He can recognize everyone around him from the way they walked. The gait differed. The pressure on either of the feet differed. He always spotted a new person in the room with ease and élan.   He even identified in which direction they are facing; he would know when they turned from one side to the other. The pressure that the legs exerted on the ground was ‘audible’ to him. He could sense it as if he had some