In a drive to promote energy-efficient products, the Narendra Modi-led government will launch a new scheme aimed at incentivising energy-efficient fans and air conditioners, officials from the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) said. The National Democratic Alliance government had launched a similar scheme to promote energy-efficient or light-emitting diode (LED) lights earlier this year.
According to industry estimates, about four million air conditioners (ACs) are sold annually in India, which is a fraction of television sales in the country. Manufacturers, it is learnt, have been lobbying hard with the government for a while now to incentivise five-star and inverter ACs, both considered to be energy-efficient, but expensive at the same time, to boost sales.
"The proposal to offer incentives to promote sale of energy-efficient products is indeed good news. Industry has made several representations to put such a mechanism in place. We are happy that such a step is being taken," said Shantanu Das Gupta, vice-president, corporate affairs and strategy, Asia South, Whirlpool of India.
Kamal Nandi, business head and EVP, Godrej Appliances, says, "While 15 per cent of all ACs sold today are fitted with invertors compared to less than five per cent two years ago, the incentive scheme will definitely boost sales."
The plan, according to BEE officials, is to do much like what it is doing in the case of LED lights - procuring in bulk from leading manufacturing and then selling directly at subsidised rates. Prices, according to LED manufacturers, have come down by 23 per cent as a result of the government's bulk procurement programme.
"During the first tender process, a seven-watt LED bulb was sold by manufacturers for Rs 300. In the recent bidding process, however, prices were down by Rs 70 per unit," Kanik Gupta, director, Compact Lamps, a Delhi-based LED light manufacturer, said.
In fact, most LED manufacturers today are getting ambitious and upping their sales targets as the government steps in to promote these products. Compact, for instance, an original equipment manufacturer for domestic lighting companies launched its own brand LED brand two months ago. The expectation is that five-star and invertor ACs will also see a similar growth trajectory as the government backs these products.
