JULY 20248TOP STORIESHINDUSTAN ZINC RECEIVES POWER SUPPLY FROM SERENTICA RENEWABLESSIGNIFICANT RISE IN DEFENCE PRODUCTION VALUEHindustan Zinc, part of the Vedanta Group, announced that it has begun receiving power from Serentica Renewables. Renewable energy is being employed by Hindustan Zinc's operational business units in Rajasthan."On Global Energy Independence Day, Hindustan Zinc, declared the commencement of the first phase of renewable energy integration from Serentica Renewables," the Vedanta group firm said in a statement.Hindustan Zinc says it had signed an arrangement with Serentica to deliver 450 MW of power around the clock. While Hindustan Zinc currently has a captive solar power capacity of 40.70 MW and relies on conventional fuel sources for the remainder of its power needs, this renewable power from Serentica will increase the proportion of renewables in the company's overall energy mix, according to the statement.According to the statement, this is a key milestone in the company's continuous commitment to sustainability and clean energy integration, with the goal of reducing CO2 emissions by about 0.45 million tonnes per year."This project will not only reduce our dependency on conventional fuels and minimise our total environmental footprint but also aid our transformation towards decarbonizing our operations, paving the way for a fully sustainable future," Hindustan Zinc CEO Arun Misra said."The successful and ahead-of-schedule commissioning of Phase 1 (solar) in Bikaner exemplifies Serentica's commitment to accelerating India's clean energy transformation," Akshay Hiranandani, CEO of Serentica Renewables, said. The defence production in India has come up as one of the emerging trends which have recorded its highest ever growth with production value of almost Rs 1.27 lakh crore in 2023-24. This was recently announced by the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, which is 17 percent higher than the budget estimate of Rs 1,08,684 crore of the last fiscal. This rise also further corroborates the increasing Indian capacities and depicts a healthy upward trend in the last five years where the production has increased by over 60 percent compared to the FY 2019-20.Singh's statement does not deviate from the new narrative of India's defence profile, particularly in the context of the Make in India campaign that has been instrumental in the development of indigenous manufacturing capabilities. He applauded the efforts of DPSUs as well as the private players who have worked hard to take the sector to the next level. During 2023-24, the DPSUs and other public sector undertakings have constituted 79.2 percent of the total production value, the private sector however showed great improvement contributing 20.8 percent.This upward trend means more than figures; it symbolizes direction change supported by government policies towards ease of doing business and self-sufficiency. These and other improvements indicate that as India progresses in establishing itself as a defence manufacturing powerhouse, the nation's industrial prospects are indeed bright. JULY 20248
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