‘UDAY’ Web Portal, Mobile App launched; UDAY Club tally grows to 20

New Delhi: Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines, Piyush Goyal has launched the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) web portal and Mobile App on Wednesday. It would track and monitor the progress of Distribution Companies (DISCOMs) on operational and financial parameters under the UDAY scheme. An important part of the ‘Digital India Initiative’, the portal, app will ensure transparency, enhance accountability of various stakeholders and facilitate view of near real time progress, enabling consumers to demand better services for them selves.

Giving details of the UDAY portal, app, Goyal informed that it would provide details of latest progress made by various DISCOMs, as recent as last month, quarter. The DISCOM-level data will be integrated into state level and national level, which will be processed and used for advanced performance analysis. The national, state and DISCOM level dashboards will thus provide a snapshot of latest financial and operational performance at various levels in public domain.

The minister said that the portal, app is a logical follow-up to the memorandum of under standing (MoUs) signed by the states under UDAY, not only to enable monitoring of the progress made by the DISCOMs at Central Ministry level, but also for making future schemes, plans for improving DISCOMs performance.  .

Giving examples of achievements in UDAY among States, the minister quoted the Rajasthan Discom where, in less than two years, annual losses of around Rs. 15000 crores will soon are to be converted into profits. He also talked about Haryana’s progress, where as an example, all 173 villages in Panchkula have received 24×7 power supply. Goyal encouraged officials of the ministry to think innovatively and come out with performance based rewards for best performing states under UDAY. He also talked about starting a ‘Citizen Poll’ to receive feedback on the ground level achievements of different schemes, which would help recalibrating their implementation process.

During the event, Telangana and Assam joined UDAY by signing MOUs with the Ministry of Power for operational and financial turnaround of their respective DISCOMs, making the tally in the UDAY Club to 20. States with over 90% of total DISCOM debts covered under UDAY.

While the Government of Telangana would take over Rs.8923 crores of the total Rs.11897 crores of DISCOM debt, the Government of Assam would take over Rs.928 crores out of total Rs.1510 crores DISCOM Debt (being 75% of their respective DISCOM debt outstanding as on 30.09.2015, as envisaged in the scheme) and the balance debt would be re-priced or issued as state guaranteed DISCOM bonds. This would amount to annual saving in the interest cost of Rs. 387 crores to Telangana and Rs. 37 crores to Assam respectively. The interest cost on future borrowings is also expected to reduce, providing a saving of around Rs.30-40 crores to these States.