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Solar power producers get some mixed wins in court; Punjab and Odisha sharpen their outreach to start-ups before the Global Entrepreneurship Summit; Karnataka will set prices in private clinics; and more.

Center–State relations

India and the World Bank signed a $98 million loan plus a $2 million grant agreement to help increase power generation capacity through renewable energy sources. The Shared Infrastructure for Solar Parks Project will finance loans made to states by the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. Source: Live Mint In Detail: Press Release

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh has agreed to buy electricity from Kadapa Solar Park, where France's Engie had won a 250 megawatt (MW) solar auction held by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) without any buyer for the output. NTPC agreed to bundle Kadapa's output with 125 MW capacity of thermal power, resulting in a lower overall tariff. Source: Economic Times

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu launched the Andhra Pradesh State Energy Calculator 2050, an open-source tool for state-level energy planning. The calculator allows users to track the impact of various policy choices on the state's energy landscape. Source: The Hindu In Detail: Andhra Pradesh State Energy Calculator, 2050

Bihar

The winter session of the Bihar Assembly began November 27 and is scheduled to conclude December 1. The session got off to a rocky start as opposition members protested outside the assembly. Source: Outlook India

New Delhi

To encourage digital payment of electricity bills, BSES announced the launch of an online bill payment facility equipped with Bharat QR Code. Customers using this payment mode will receive at least 10 percent cash back until February 28, 2018. Source: BGR

Gujarat

Nothing critical to report this week

Haryana

The state cabinet approved the Haryana District Mineral Foundation Rules, 2017, which create a District Mineral Foundation in each district under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner. The foundations will be responsible for deploying funds that mining companies and the state are legally required to donate to districts in which they operate. Source: United News of India In detail: The Haryana District Mineral Foundation Trust Rules

The Haryana cabinet approved the Haryana Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Rules, 2017. The rules implement the provisions of a central land acquisition act first passed in 2013. Source: United News of India In detail: Haryana Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Rules, 2017

Karnataka

The Karnataka Assembly passed a slightly diluted version of a law to regulate pricing and other policies at private hospitals and medical establishments. The final bill, the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments (Amendment) (KPME) Bill, removes imprisonment as a possible sanction for violators of the act and includes representatives of the private sector on district-level grievance committees. It allows the government to set fees for procedures performed under government health insurance and prohibits hospitals from holding corpses hostage when fees have not been paid. Source: Indian Express In detail: Karnataka Private Medical Establishment (Amendment) Act, 2017

IBM's Watson supercomputer used Internet of Things inputs to monitor and analyze the distribution of water throughout Bengaluru. The study concluded that water distribution is inequitable, leading to shortages. IBM hopes to expand the study to water distribution throughout the entire state. Source: Economic Times

Madhya Pradesh

Nothing critical to report this week

Maharashtra

Maharashtra was the largest consumer of electricity in India, according to data from the Central Electricity Authority, consuming 75,169 million units during the first six months of the fiscal year. This was an increase of 8.6 percent over the same period in the 2016-17 financial year. Tripura came tops for growth, however, with consumption rising 94.4 percent. Source: Indian Express

Maharashtra will pay owners of non-agricultural land the same premium when purchasing land for government use as is currently paid to owners of agricultural land. Both classes of owners will now receive compensation of 5 times the market rate when selling land to the government for infrastructure projects. Source: Economic Times

Rajasthan

U.S.-based data and analytics company Teradata is working with the Rajasthan government to use big data to improve delivery of services. Teradata will help plan and track welfare schemes to reduce financial fraud and will work with the state to create a common data and analytics platform for all government departments across the state. Source: The Hindu

Tamil Nadu

The center approved projects worth more than $15 billion in Tamil Nadu, including three new elevated corridors and an expressway between Chennai and Bengaluru. Source: Money Control

Telangana

Initiatives to improve the performance of Telangana's two power distribution companies under the Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana have helped them reduce technical and commercial losses by 10 percent during the July-September quarter. Aggregate technical and commercial losses stood at 14.2 percent at the end of the first quarter but fell to 12.8 percent by the end of the second quarter. Progress still falls short of the target of 10.96 percent set by the Ministry of Power. Source: The Hindu

Total S.A, the French oil and gas company, and GoodPlanet, a France-based NGO signed an agreement to deploy 8,400 biodigesters in Telangana in a bid to tackle climate change and provide clean energy to the state. The machines use fermentation to convert animal solid waste into cooking gas. The remainder can be used as fertilizer. Source: Economic Times

Uttar Pradesh

The Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission upheld Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) signed by the Uttar Pradesh Power Corp with nine independent solar power producers but set the tariff for all nine PPAs at the lowest bid, 10.9 cents per unit. The PPAs were the result of a 2015 auction which resulted in discovered tariffs ranging from 10.9 to 13.3 cents per unit. Source: Daily News Analysis In Detail: UPERC Order

West Bengal

Nothing critical to report this week

Best of the Rest

Chhattisgarh

The four-day-long winter session of the Chhattisgarh Assembly is scheduled to commence on December 19. Source: United News of India

Punjab

Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh unveiled the draft Punjab Start-up and Entrepreneurship Development Policy 2017, emphasizing the government's commitment to support women entrepreneurs. The policy, which seeks to create 1,000 start-ups over five years, provides up to $155,000 in grant funding for public incubators. Source: Tribune India In detail: Punjab Start-up and Entrepreneurship Development Policy 2017

Odisha

Odisha will extend the period during which a new business can qualify as a start-up to 10 years from the current five. Additional Chief Secretary L M Gupta of the Government of Odisha announced the change while addressing a "Road to Global Entrepreneurship Program" Summit. Source: Knn India