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Uttar Pradesh presents the first Yogi Adityanath budget and starts to cancel expensive power contracts; Tripura blockaded for past week; Tamil Nadu moves for statewide rent control; President Mukherjee approves Maharashtra bill outlawing social boycott; and more.

Center–State relations

Six states and Union Territories began use of the Government e-Marketplace (GeM), a central government initiative to move public procurement online in order to fight corruption and increase efficiency. Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Telangana, Puducherry, and Arunachal Pradesh will conduct government procurement through GeM. Source: The Hindu

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh and Japan signed Memoranda of Cooperation for the development of the state’s new capital, establishment of industrial clusters, support to the energy sector, and human resource development. The signing took place at the A.P.-Japan Public-Private Joint Conference. Source: The Hindu

In conjunction with Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), Andhra Pradesh will deploy 1 million LED streetlights in seven districts of the state over the next nine months. Andhra Pradesh already has 600,000 LED streetlights. Source: Economic Times

Bihar

Bihar joined the center’s regional air connectivity scheme, with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in the presence of Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju. The state is expanding the Patna airport and building a second airport to serve the city. Source: Indian Express

New Delhi

Private power distributor BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd (BRPL) and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) have formed a two-year partnership to explore collaboration on solar rooftops, electric vehicles, energy storage systems, energy efficiency, and smart grid technologies. Source: Economic Times

Gujarat

Gujarat received 15,000 applications for subsidized rooftop solar panels before the official launch of its solar rooftop program on July 14. The state will provide a subsidy of $320 per kilowatt (KW) capacity, as well as a flat subsidy of $155 per rooftop array. Source: Times of India

Haryana

Nothing critical to report this week

Madhya Pradesh

Nothing critical to report this week

Maharashtra

Walmart plans to open 15 wholesale stores in Maharashtra, making an investment of $139.7 million. Walmart already has 21 wholesale stores in India, including two in Maharashtra. Source: Hindu Business Line

President Pranab Mukherjee approved Maharashtra’s Prohibition of Social Boycott Bill, first passed in 2016. The law is India’s first to prohibit the use of ostracism by groups or individuals as a method of social control. Source: Indian Express

Rajasthan

Nothing critical to report this week

Tamil Nadu

The government introduced the Tamil Nadu Regulation of Right and Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants Act, 2017 in the state assembly. The act creates a rent authority whose written approval will be required to rent any property in the state. It also creates a special tribunal to deal with landlord-tenant disputes. Source: Times of India

A new report by Bridge to India finds that Tamil Nadu, with 163 megawatts (MW), continues to lead the country in rooftop solar capacity. India added 678 MW of rooftop solar in 2016-17, reaching a total installed capacity of 1.4 gigawatts. Source: Hindu Business Line **In Detail: **Bridge to India Rooftop Solar Map

Telangana

Nothing critical to report this week

Uttar Pradesh

The new BJP government in Uttar Pradesh presented its first annual budget. The budget contains $59.7 billion in expenditures, an 11 percent increase over the previous government’s most recent budget. It includes an allocation of $5.6 billion for a waiver of crop loans and $8.6 billion for new schemes. Source: Indian Express

In a bid to cut power purchase costs to 6 cents per unit, the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation (UPPCL) has decided to exit all power purchase agreements (PPAs) where costs are above that mark. UPPCL has already served 10day exit notices on Bajaj Energy’s five 90 MW generation plants, where power costs 10.9 cents per unit. Source: Financial Express

West Bengal

Nothing critical to report this week

Best of the Rest

Assam

The state government announced it will shut down all inter-state checkpoints beginning in August in order to reduce the cost and time of transporting items from other states. Both Goods and Services Tax (GST) and non-GST goods checkpoints will be closed. Source: Economic Times

Tripura

The Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPTF) imposed an indefinite highway and railway blockade on July 10 in support of its demand for a separate state for indigenous peoples. The blockade threatens to create a severe shortage of medicines essential commodities. The IPTF was due to meet with Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, in Delhi on July 18. Source: Northeast Today