Raipur : The Chhattisgarh Government has been given a target of creating 2000 ‘Suryamitras’ by the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy who could be trained for seeking employment in the solar energy sector during the next five years, officials informed.
The Suryamitra Skill Development Program (SSDP) aims to develop the skills of youth, considering the opportunities for employment in the growing Solar Energy Power Project’s installation, operation and maintenance in India and abroad.
The SSDP is also designed to prepare the candidates to become new entrepreneurs in Solar Energy sector. This is a 600 hours residential skill development program .
Notably, Chhattisgarh commissioned grid connected solar projects with cumulative capacity of 128.91 MW as on October 31, 2017, according to a status report of Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
Chhattisgarh is among 15 States namely Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Manipur, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal which has come out with Solar Policy supporting grid connected rooftop systems, the Central Government has informed.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has included renewable energy projects under priority sector lending for which bank loans up to a limit of Rs. 15 crore to borrowers will be available for renewable energy projects including grid connected solar rooftop and ground mounted systems. For individual households, the loan limit is Rs. 10 lakh per borrower, it informed.
Department of Financial Services has advised all Public Sector Banks (PSBs) to provide loans for grid connected rooftop solar systems as home loan/ home improvement loan.
A total of 10 PSBs namely Bank of India, Syndicate Bank, State Bank of India, Dena Bank, Central Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Allahabad Bank, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur have given instructions to their branches.
Note: News shared for public awareness with reference from the information provided at online news portals.
