MARCH 20248TOP STORIESUP GOVERNMENT GREEN LIGHTS GREEN HYDROGEN PRODUCTION FACILITYThe Uttar Pradesh government approved a green hydrogen policy on Tuesday, as well as a proposal to build two 800-MW units in Anpara in collaboration with NTPC for Rs 8,624 crore. The decisions were made during a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath."So far, hydrogen production technology has relied on electricity or gas, referred to as grey hydrogen. A significant effort is currently underway to convert grey hydrogen to green hydrogen. Energy Minister AK Sharma stated in an official release that the policy outlines an ambitious goal of producing one million metric tonnes of green hydrogen per year over the next four years, by 2028.The green hydrogen policy has been set for 5 years. Industries establishing themselves within this timeframe will receive subsidies and other incentives totalling Rs 5,045 crore."These industries will be eligible for subsidies ranging from 10 to 30 per cent on capital expenditure, with the first five industries enjoying discounts of up to 40 per cent. Additionally, the policy includes provisions for energy banking, offering a 100 per cent rebate on intrastate electricity charges and billing and transmission charges for interstate transactions," Sharma said. 5G SMARTPHONE SHIPMENTS TO OVERTAKE 4G DEVICES AS ITS ADOPTION INCREASESFifth generation (5G) smartphone shipments are likely to outpace 4G ones this year, with 5G penetration in the volume-heavy budget segment expected to increase triggering a replacement cycle, said a top executive from Korean major Samsung.Aditya Babbar, vice president of MX (mobile experiences) business at Samsung said that the Korean major will be differentiating its products in the budget not only with 5G support but also with India-centric innovations and features.Babbar, who has been newly elevated from senior director at Samsung, said the company has an aggressive target of selling 2 million units of its newly launched Galaxy F15 in the next 12-15 months."The way 2024 is emerging, one of the big demand centers will be 5G. 5G democratisation will take place at a faster pace and that is where you will see a large replacement demand coming from," Babbar said."This might be the first year when 5G in terms of volumes will outgrow 4G," he said, adding that analysts are expecting a 65:35 split between 5G and 4G handsetsTo catch on with the trend, and to compete with Chinese rivals such as Vivo and Xiaomi, Samsung introduced a Rs 12,000-priced 5G handset that it claimed trumps competition with a better display, bigger battery, and four years of software updates. Babbar said the combination of the three will give the product an edge over the others.
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