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Big News

Interstate transmission of solar power will be free until 2019; Karnataka plans to set prices in private hospitals; Delhi opens registration for rooftop solar; Gorkhaland protests intensify in West Bengal; Kerala gets a ‘green’ metro system; and more.

Center–State relations

Solar power projects will be exempt from interstate transmission charges until the end of 2019. The decision will lower the cost of using solar power from another state by 1 to 4 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh). Source: Economic Times

Goods and Services Tax Tracker: Twenty-six states —Telangana, Bihar, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Goa, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Tripura, Sikkim, Nagaland, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Karnataka, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu — have passed the model version of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Kerala and West Bengal passed ordinances that will have the same effect until the states pass their own law. Jammu & Kashmir was yet to pass the tax as of June 19.

Andhra Pradesh

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu unveiled the state’s lending plan for the current fiscal year. Andhra Pradesh plans to lend $25.8 billion, 14 percent more than last year. More than half of the total is reserved for credit to the agriculture sector, while another $3.8 billion will go to small enterprises. Source: Times of India

SB Energy, a joint venture between Softbank, Bharti Enterprises, and Foxconn Technology Group, has started operations at a 455 megawatt (MW) solar project in Andhra Pradesh. Source: PV Tech

Bihar

Nothing critical to report this week

New Delhi

Delhi’s power department has opened registration for rooftop solar power plants in the city. Residential, institutional, and social sector consumers are eligible to install rooftop plants that can sell solar back to the grid. Delhi hopes to use one gigawatt of energy from renewable sources by 2020. Source: Financial Express

Gujarat

Nothing critical to report this week

Haryana

The new Haryana Building Code will raise the floor area ratio (FAR) for projects that include solar units and solid waste management plants. The necessary regulations are still to come, however. Source: Economic Times

Karnataka

The Karnataka government has tabled a bill, The Karnataka Private Medical Establishments (Amendment) Bill-2017, that will empower the government to set prices private hospitals can charge for procedures and medications. **Source: **Times of India

Intel announced that it will invest over $1.8 billion to expand its research and design presence and to build a new design center in India. The proposed facility will be located at Intel’s 44-acre campus in Bengaluru. Source: Economic Times

Madhya Pradesh

Nothing critical to report this week

Maharashtra

India’s three public sector oil companies signed an agreement to build one of the world’s largest integrated refinery-cum-petrochemicals complexes in Maharashtra. The 66 million ton per year complex is expected to be commissioned by the year 2022. Source: Livemint

Rajasthan

Rajasthan signed an agreement with Uttar Pradesh to connect the states with bus services on 199 routes. Source: Indian Express

Tamil Nadu

The state generation company’s tender for 1,500 MW of solar power was oversubscribed, with 40 developers bidding for a total capacity of 3,780 MW. The number of bids means that the tariff is set to fall below 6 cents per unit, the benchmark rate. Source: The Hindu

Telangana

Samsung inaugurated its Samsung Digital Academy in Hyderabad. The academy will offer training in Internet of Things programming. Source: Business Standard

Telangana’s gross domestic product grew at 10.1 percent, to $79 billion (at constant prices) in 2016-17, compared with 9.5 percent in the previous year. Source: Economic Times

Uttar Pradesh

Nothing critical to report this week

West Bengal

Four protestors were shot and killed by police, and more than 30 police officers were injured, during protests demanding a separate state in West Bengal’s . Led by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, the protestors are demanding a state for speakers of the Gorkha language. Source: India Today

Best of the Rest

Kerala

Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the first phase of the Kochi Metro, an 8.2 mile stretch between Palarivattom and Aluva, The metro system plans to meet 25 percent of energy requirements from renewable sources. Source: Deccan Herald

Jharkhand

Jharkhand will offer interest reductions on short term loans to farmers under the Interest Subvention Scheme (ISS). The scheme will reduce interest in agricultural loans to one percent, provided the principle is repaid within a set period. Source: Hindustan Times

Punjab

The cabinet approved amendments to the Panchayati Raj Act of 1994, the Punjab Municipal Act of 1911, and the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act of 1976 that will increase the reservation for women in village councils and urban local bodies to 50 percent from 33 percent. The Punjab legislative assembly has to approve the amendments. Source: First Post