Latest news with #Rs27
Business Recorder
20 hours ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Solar net-metering capacity in Pakistan jumps to 2,813MW
Solar net-metering capacity in Pakistan has jumped to 2,813 megawatts (MW) as of March 31, 2025, according to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2024-25, reflecting a 12% increase over the first nine months of the current fiscal year. This represents a rise of over 300MW from the previous fiscal year, when the capacity stood at around 2,500MW, as per NEPRA's State of the Industry Report 2024. The 300MW jump in net-metering capacity is largely attributed to a sharp fall in solar panel prices and the financial incentives net-metering offers to consumers. China exports more solar panels to Pakistan than to many G20 nations in 5 years: report The system allows consumers to install rooftop solar panels, sell surplus power generated during the day to distribution companies (DISCOs), and purchase electricity at night — offsetting monthly bills and contributing to the national grid. Experts say the expansion has also improved voltage stability and reduced transmission and distribution losses, showcasing tangible benefits to the power system. Despite the growth, net-metering still accounts for a fraction of the total potential. Pakistan is estimated to have imported solar equipment capable of producing 20,000–22,000MW in recent years, most of which is installed off-grid — particularly in agriculture, residential, and industrial settings. The surge in clean energy coincides with broader developments in the country's power sector. As of March 2025, Pakistan's total installed electricity generation capacity reached 46,605MW, up 1.6% from 45,888MW a year earlier. This includes the operationalisation of the 884MW Suki Kinari Hydropower Project, and progress on new solar, wind, and bagasse-based projects, as well as the termination of power purchase agreements (PPAs) with some independent power producers (IPPs). Of the total capacity, 44.3% now comes from hydel, nuclear, and renewable sources, marking a continued shift away from thermal power, which now accounts for 55.7% of the energy mix. Renewable energy data reveals that hydel sources contribute 24.4%, nuclear power 7.8%, and solar and wind (including net-metering) 12.2% to the installed capacity. Meanwhile, Khalid Waleed, an energy expert at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), warned against proposed tariff reductions for net-metering. From crisis to clean energy: Pakistan emerges as top solar market in 2024 The government is considering slashing the current Rs27 per unit buyback rate to Rs10, which Waleed argued would 'disincentivise clean energy' and reverse recent gains. Instead, he recommended a phased reduction to Rs15-18 per unit to maintain investor and consumer interest. The Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP) 2022-31 set a target to add 3,420MW under net-metering by 2031. NEPRA believes this goal can be met — or even exceeded — if distribution companies avoid obstructing the ongoing rooftop solarisation momentum.
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
Life insurance industry's new business premiums up 13% in May 2025
The life insurance industry recorded nearly 13% year-on-year rise in new business premiums (NBP) in May 2025 to Rs 30,463 crore, up from Rs27,034 crore a year earlier, according to data released by the Life Insurance Council . The month saw a 10.4% fall in the number of life insurance policies sold by the companies as the industry continued to navigate the new surrender value guidelines that kicked in October last year. The growth was primarily driven by the private sector insurer, which reported a 16.6% increase in NBP to Rs12,058 crore. State-run Life Insurance Corporation ( LIC ) posted 10.3% increase to Rs18,405 crore, the data showed. Among listed private players, HDFC Life reported a 33% jump in premiums to Rs3,022 crore, while SBI Life 's total premiums grew over 25% to Rs2,950 crore. ICICI Prudential Life reported a near 7% growth to Rs1,407 crore. 'Typically, the first quarter is a weak season for the life insurance segment as it immediately comes after the fiscal end, where most retail customers rush to buy policies. In May, the YoY growth has come down compared to 15.1% in the same month a year ago mainly because of the impact of revised surrender value guidelines,' said Saurabh Bhalerao Associate Director – BFSI Research, CARE Ratings . In May, the overall industry growth was led by group business, whereas individual business reported a muted number. The growth was led by group single premium, which grew 13% YoY to Rs18,068 crore. The month also saw a fall in volume of policies sold. The fall in the individual non-single segment, which is the regular premium paid by retail customers, was at over 10% with LIC and private life insurers reporting a fall of 14% and 2%, respectively. However, despite the fall in volume in individual non-single premium segments, private insurers reported a premium growth, indicating that they have moved to higher value policies amid changes in surrender value regulations, Bhalerao said. The Life Insurance Council data shows that LIC's individual non-single premium income fell to Rs2,060 crore in May compared to 2,236 crore in the same month a year ago. Meanwhile, the premium income in the same segment for private life insurers stood at 5,025 crore compared to Rs4,681 crore a year ago. Economic Times WhatsApp channel )
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Packers and movers transported ganja from Odisha to Nagpur in bank manager's household goods
Nagpur: The ongoing investigation into the seizure of 108kg marijuana, or ganja, worth Rs27 lakh last week led to a shocking revelation. A packers-and-movers transporter, Avinash Dhoke (34), had brought the narcotics consignment concealed in the household goods of an innocent bank manager, who had been transferred from Odisha to Nagpur. The narcotics consignment, intercepted by Kalamna police after a dramatic chase on June 3, has hit the bank manager's shifting plan, as his household goods have been impounded as evidence. However, the cops have promised to legally sort out the issue as far as possible. The case resurfaced on Saturday after a Kalamna police team, led by senior inspector Praveen Kale under Zonal DCP Niketan Kadam, travelled almost 700km from Nagpur to a remote Odisha village to nab the key supplier, Bulbul Pradhan, alias 'WhatsApp Bhai', after waiting in a trap for more than 24 hours. Pradhan belongs to a family of notorious drug mafia. His elder brother is part of an interstate racket with a nationwide network. The mission to bust the drug cartel was undertaken under Nagpur CP Ravinder Singal's flagship crackdown on narcotics 'Operation Thunder', which has unearthed a new nationwide modus operandi of using movers and packers to transport narcotics across India. Sources said that Dhoke was supposed to deliver the bank manager's belongings to the official's new address in Nagpur. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trade Bitcoin & Ethereum – No Wallet Needed! IC Markets Start Now Undo Dhoke's driver took a detour of almost 250km to pick up the consignment of 108kg ganja from Pradhan, who was waiting at a location on the Sambalpur highway. The driver had been promised Rs1,000 per kg ganja or Rs1 lakh as his share in profits. Dhoke, who was supposed to deliver the consignment of ganja to Palash Wankhede, managed to keep the tightly packed, dried marijuana herbs in a few sacks under the bank manager's household belongings, furniture, beds, electronic gadgets, and so on. Wankhede is now behind bars along with Dhoke. Kale said that Dhoke managed to dodge numerous checkpoints, nakabandis, toll nakas, RTO check posts, and highway police by furnishing the receipt of the payment made by the innocent bank manager for shifting his belongings from the Odisha-West Bengal border to an interior village of Odisha, and then to Nagpur in Maharashtra via Raipur in Chhattisgarh. "It is a shocking modus operandi that packers and movers are transporting narcotics with the belongings of their innocent clients. The Kalamna police team, led by sub-inspector Santosh Kumar Ramlod, could identify, chase, and intercept the vehicle because we had specific input and did not stop even after seeing household belongings in it. We offloaded every luggage to search the vehicle before managing to lay our hands on it," said Kale. Sources from Kalamna police said Dhoke was working for Wankhede for quite some time but has refused to reveal further details during interrogation. The cops are now engaged in gathering technical and electronic evidence for further backward and forward linkages.
Express Tribune
5 days ago
- Business
- Express Tribune
Govt decides to tighten solar net metering rules
Listen to article The government has decided to tighten regulations for solar net metering users in a second attempt, after the first one faced a strong backlash and was blocked by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Under the new plan, the government will abolish the zero-bill facility for solar net metering by introducing various measures. Additionally, consumers will be allowed a sanctioned load of 1.0x, down from the current load of 1.5x. This means they will be forced to switch to hybrid solar systems by using lithium batteries. Under the current net metering system, the consumers share electricity with power distribution companies (DISCOs) at a buyback rate of Rs27 per unit. However, as part of the new plan, the government is seeking to end this electricity sharing system and DISCOs will pay only Rs10 per unit to the rooftop solar owners who have a net metering system. Experts believe this will lead to an additional expenditure of $1 billion on the import of lithium batteries every year. The plan was discussed during a meeting held between different stakeholders and power ministry officials. Power Division minister chaired the huddle. The Power Division has proposed several measures that will kill the spirit of net metering. According to the proposed plan, the concept of net metering has been abolished and a new concept of net billing with a revised buyback rate is being introduced. This means there will be no exchange of electricity units; rather DISCOs will pay a reduced buyback rate of Rs10 to consumers instead of the existing Rs27 per unit. At present, DISCOs offer a credit billing facility on a quarterly basis, which is being abolished. In its place, a cash facility will be available for the excess electricity exported to the national grid by the solar meter owners and the time period has been reduced to a monthly basis. However, no change has been proposed in the categories of consumers as commercial, domestic and all other consumers will be eligible to take benefit of the new policy. The contract period for a licence has been reduced from seven years to five years. Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Energy Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, in a statement, said that the government was not abolishing the net metering policy, but was considering changing its current mechanism to a more effective, transparent and sustainable model. He recalled that in 2017-18 he himself played a key role in introducing net metering and at that time the system was in its infancy. "Now, the scope of net metering has expanded and it is having a serious impact on the grid, which must be addressed in a timely manner." He stressed that the government did not intend to harm any consumer or business, but all decisions were being taken while keeping in mind the national interest and long-term sustainability of the energy system. "If we mention the purchase of units, then this is also being considered and there is talk of bringing it to the energy purchase price, so that the system automatically adjusts with fluctuations in rates. All these suggestions are under consideration," the minister said. He pointed out that if the payback period for net metering customers was about three years or less, it would be suitable for any investment. "If a customer is consuming 40% of the electricity himself, the return of money in three years is an acceptable business model. These reforms are not a deterrent, but a step towards a better, balanced and sustainable system," he added. During the meeting, the energy minister presented a comprehensive outline of the ongoing energy reforms. In this regard, the government has eliminated 9,000 megawatts of expensive and unnecessary projects, which were a burden on the system. He said that a levy was imposed on the captive power consumers to bring them back to the grid, which resulted in an increase in electricity demand. Since June 2024, the cross-subsidy given to the industry has reached Rs174 billion, which has reduced industrial tariffs by 31% and caused a significant rise in industrial consumption.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Time of India
108 kg ganja seized at Chikhli Chowk, 2 arrested
1 2 Nagpur: A consignment of 108kg ganja was seized by Kalamna police at Chikhli Chowk on Tuesday, tightening the noose around the city's drug network. Two accused were arrested, and an investigation under Operation Thunder led by commissioner of police Ravinder Singal is underway to trace the broader supply chain. The marijuana, believed to have been cultivated on a farm in Odisha, came to Nagpur via Raipur. According to police, the contraband was transported in a six-wheeler truck, and was being transferred into a black SUV when the accused were caught in action. Acting on a specific tip-off received late at night on June 2, a team led by PSI Santosh Kumar Ramlod, along with officers Ravikumar Shahu, Pradeep Pawar, Mangesh Lohi, Sandeep Dhale, and Santosh Pandey, laid multiple traps between HB Town and Chikhli Chowk. After a failed overnight wait, fresh intelligence on June 3 afternoon led to renewed surveillance. Around 4pm, the truck was spotted near Mata Mandir, where the transfer was underway. DCP Niketan Kadam told the media on Wednesday evening that despite the formal closure of the drive, targeted action against drug networks continues. He confirmed that the seized ganja originated from Odisha and was likely intended for distribution to peddlers not just in Nagpur but across various districts. "The involvement of more individuals is suspected, and mobile phone data from the accused is being analysed to establish backwards and forward linkages," Kadam said. He added that no Naxal connection could be established this early in the investigation. "Preliminary investigation has revealed that the ganja was meant to be distributed to small-time peddlers at the local level, and we will be tracking them down as well," he said. The arrested accused — Avinash Dhoke, a resident of Yashodhara Nagar, and Palash Wankhede from Suryodaya Nagar — attempted to flee but were intercepted. A total of 108kg ganja packed in six bags was recovered, valued at around Rs27 lakh. The seized truck and SUV were worth Rs10 lakh and Rs6 lakh respectively, taking the total haul value to Rs43 lakh. Kadam confirmed that the duo were history sheeters and had been involved in similar crimes in the past as well. A case has been registered under the NDPS Act, and further investigations are underway to identify local and inter-state links. The operation was carried out under the supervision of inspector Pravin Kale and DCP Kadam.
