A government agency in India that helps promote renewable energy has changed how it gives out power contracts. This change comes after some allegations from the U.S. about bribery in certain deals. The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) helps connect renewable energy producers with power buyers and earns a commission for this service. Recently, U.S. authorities said that bribes were paid to some officials related to solar power contracts, many of which involved the Adani Group. The Adani Group has denied these allegations, calling them untrue. Although U.S. officials have not found any wrongdoing related to SECI, the agency decided to adjust its approach to issuing contracts to lower the chances of corruption.
Now, about 75% of SECI’s new contracts will be based on the actual demand from states, instead of the previous method, which mostly focused on finding suppliers first. This old way, which made up about 90% of contracts, increased the risk of corruption since some producers could influence states into agreeing to deals for power they did not really need.
The source mentioned that SECI hasn’t found any reason to investigate the deals it has been involved with, and no other agency has contacted them regarding this issue. However, the allegations against Adani Group might make foreign investors hesitant about putting money into India’s renewable energy sector. As a result, SECI expects a slowdown in new contracts for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends on March 31. Their goal was to find bidders for 15 gigawatts (GW) of power, but they have only secured about 6 to 7 GW so far. India is still about 10% short of its promise to add 175 GW of renewable power by 2022 and hopes to reach 500 GW by 2030.
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India’s SECI Revamps Power Contracts Amid U.S. Bribery Allegations
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Trump Set to Ring NYSE Bell and as ‘Person of the Year’!
On Thursday, Donald Trump will ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. This is exciting news because it also happens on the same day he is expected to be named “Person of the Year” by Time magazine. However, the magazine’s spokesperson has not given any comments about this honor.
Trump, who is preparing to become president again, made his money from real estate in New York before he jumped into politics. During his first term, he liked to check how well the stock market was doing to see how his plans were working. Right now, the stock market seems to be responding well to his return.
Ringing the bell at the stock exchange is a big moment; it marks the start of trading for the day. This honor is usually given to important business leaders celebrating big successes, but many celebrities and politicians, like Ronald Reagan and Nelson Mandela, have also done it. The news about Trump being named “Person of the Year” was first shared by Politico.
This isn’t the first time Trump has received this title. He was also named “Person of the Year” in 2016. In 2020, Time gave the title to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris after they won against Trump in the election. Last year, the famous singer Taylor Swift was honored with this title.
