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Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said bulk of supply contracts for power equipment should go to domestic firms like BHEL to protect Indian firms against cheap foreign imports.“We are going in for 20,000 mw per year (of capacity addition). So at least we should be assured that, much work is given to our companies. Whatever excess or beyond of that, could go to other companies. That is our stand,” he told reporters after launching bsepsu.com, a website on listed public firms.

“...local industries like BHEL, Bharat Forge are into making these equipment for power generations, so there interest should be protected,” he said voicing concerns of the domestic industry which is worried over rising Chinese imports.

The Minister further said the Planning Commission is studying imports of power equipment to find out whether the foreign firms are dumping their machinery.

The government plans to add over 78,000 MW of power generation capacity by the end of XIth Five-Year plan. The current capacity is over 1.55 lakh MW.

State-owned BHEL currently manufactures equipment that can generate 10,000 MW of electricity while the company plans to take this capacity to 20,000 by December, 2011.

The government has reportedly taken a decision that the ultra mega power projects would not be allowed to source equipment from foreign companies and would have to rather buy from indigenous companies like BHEL, Bharat Forge and L&T.

Source - Hindu