Budget 2024: FM's Solar Rooftop Plan Likely To Create Room For Entrepreneurship

The Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman today presented the Interim Budget 2024. In her speech, she focused on solar energy and said that about crore households under the rooftop solarisation scheme will be benefited. The scheme will provide the each household up to 300 units of free electricity per month. Also, Sitharaman said that it will help each household save Rs 15,000 to Rs 18,000.

While there was a comprehensive recap of past achievements, there was a noticeable absence of concrete measures for startups, founders, and investors. "The emphasis on macro measures such as EV adoption in public transport, increased focus on tourism, rooftop solarisation, and infrastructure development is appreciated, as it indirectly benefits startups in these sectors. However, there was a missed opportunity to outline specific initiatives and incentives to foster innovation and entrepreneurship. Looking ahead, we hope for a more targeted and supportive approach to fuel the growth of the startup ecosystem in the coming year,"  says 100x.vc, Founder and CFO Yagnesh Sanjharka.

The Stark Reality

"The move to provide electricity through rooftop solarisation stands out as a dual-benefit initiative. It not only lessens environmental impact but also alleviates financial burdens on households, embodying a model for sustainable development," states Green Frontier Capital Co-managing Partner and Founder Sandiip Bhammer.

Amid all the buzz around rooftop, the reality is not impressive. For context, in May last year, a parliamentary standing committee on energy mentioned that against a target of 40 GW to be achieved by the end of 2022, only about 5.87 GW rooftops were installed. This is less than the 15 per cent of the actual target.

Clearly, to achieve the target in the stipulated time the ecosystem needs a concrete blueprint for a robust public-private partnership. With the help innovations that startups bring, government would be able to reach the milestone of solarisation across the country. Hence, there is ample headroom for startups to foster in the solar space.