The Union government has sanctioned Rs 113 crore to BEST to improve the transmission and distribution network in Maharashtra.
The amount will be routed through the state government, which will create a special account for the purpose.
"We have sanctioned Rs 300 crore to the state, of which Rs 113 crore will go to the BEST. The money has been sourced from the accelerated power development programme," Union minister of state for power, Jayawanti Mehta, said.
"Apart from utilising this amount to cut transmission and distribution losses, BEST can also use the amount to further develop their convergence projects," she added.
Mehta was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a conference on 'Banking & Finance 2001' organised by software powerhouse, Tata Consultancy Services.
BEST holds licence to distribute power to large parts of Mumbai. Recently, the company decided to leverage its large distribution apparatus on laying optic fibre networks. Tata Power will lay the network for BEST.
The accelerated power development programme is the brainchild of the Union power ministry. The programme aims to improve power availability by cutting transmission and distribution losses, which are chiefly responsible for the poor financial health of state electricity boards.
The power ministry hopes the move will encourage large investments in the power sector. Mehta also said that the seeds to develop Mumbai as a strong financial centre have already been sown.
"Institutions such as the National Stock Exchange, National Securities Depository, Reserve Bank of India, Bombay Stock Exchange the nationalised and private banks have been using world class technology to great advantage," she said.
"I would like to applaud the recent initiatives taken by the government to promoting information technology. The government has recognised the fact that IT is an essential element in ensuring economic growth, employment and improved quality of life," Mehta added.
