More than a year after it acquired the consumer durables business of Lloyd Electric & Engineering, Havells has firmed up plans to expand its horizons. POWER TODAY takes an overview of the strategy of one of the country's leading electricals players in also becoming a big boy of electronics.

Vis Hydraulics has joined Unacea. The company specialises in the design and production of hydraulic cartridge valves, coils and electronic controls for construction equipment. It offers a customised production service, tailored on the specific needs of each customer, in addition to the standard products.

A Mechanical Engineer by qualification, Gurdeep Singh, CMD, NTPC, has over 28 years of experience in power generation sector. He started his career with NTPC and has worked at various levels in both Indian and multi-national companies such as Powergen, CLP, IDFC, CESC and AES.

The continuous awareness drive run by the government through twitter, town halls etc., has been truly helpful in the first filing of monthly returns which began in August.

In terms of impact of GST on the power sector, it is a mixed bag with the effect being positive for some and marginally negative for others. The reduction in tax rate on domestic coal will provide a relief to coal based power plants in the cost of power generation even after accounting for an increase in capital cost (due to higher tax rates in boiler, turbine, generator segment).

Finally, Goods and Services Tax (GST) has arrived on July 1, 2017, and the first batch of filing of monthly returns is underway in August 2017. Like any other changeover, GST is also facing its initial pangs.

YES BANK has signed an MoU with Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) to become the Participating Financial Institution (PFI) to avail the risk guarantee under the Partial Risk Guarantee fund for Energy Efficiency (PRGFEE). The PRGFEE is a risk sharing mechanism that provides YES Bank with a partial coverage of risk involved in extending loans for Energy Efficiency projects with an objective of scaling-up Energy Efficiency investments in India.

A good sign for the country is that we are headed towards being a power surplus nation. With the government actively pursuing its stated goal of 'electrifying all of India', power should be available to any industry anywhere. That means that the captive power market is in its sunset phase. Once grid power is reliable and abundant, the demand for standby gensets will also drastically reduce.

India continues to witness rapid development but to keep the momentum of growth high, availability of an uninterrupted power supply is a must. India needs electricity to fuel the growth of every industry, be it large-scale or small scale, manufacturing, healthcare or education.