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The production-linked incentive being provided by the Centre for manufacturing white goods, including air conditioners, will help bring in efficient cooling devices into the market soon, asserted Rajesh Kumar Singh, Secretary at the Department for promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
The central government had made an outlay of Rs 6,238 crore as incentives for white goods manufacturers. Speaking to ANI, the DPIIT secretary said, "Our AC penetration right now is about 5%. As our middle class expands and our economy grows, this penetration level will reach the global level of 30-40 per cent. Due to this, we are going to face challenges and there is going to be an explosion in demand for cooling devices. Growing demand will bring the problem of global warming and our carbon footprint will also increase significantly." "Keeping all this in mind, we need to work in this area. With the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Science and Technology and with institutions like the World Bank we can bring the latest super-efficient cooling technology to India to meet the challenges of carbon footprint and global warming." Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) spoke to ANI on the sidelines of a consultation workshop on alleviating heat stress by enhancing the production of affordable cooling devices. DPIIT secretary Singh said the central government can also think of viability gap funding on the supply side if the need arises. "Right now we are making a preliminary project report with the World Bank to understand what kind of intervention, what kind of cooling technology can be promoted in India," the DPIIT secretary further said. "We are going to launch a project with the World Bank. The focus of which is that we can bring more efficiency," said Singh. Meanwhile, according to industry analysis, the rising heat and humidity levels in India could jeopardize up to 4.5 per cent of the nation's GDP by the end of this decade. Due to cold chain disruptions, India can lose about 20 per cent of temperature-sensitive medical products and 25 per cent of vaccines annually. India currently imports several components required in the cooling value chain from other South-Asian economies. This presents India with a significant opportunity to elevate its domestic manufacturing a decrease its reliance on imports. (ANI)
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