‘Green Energy Corridor’ will pass through which of the following districts of Rajasthan?

Correct — option (1), Ajmer, Chittorgarh, Bikaner.

The Green Energy Corridors are transmission projects to carry power from wind and solar plants into the grid. A Lok Sabha answer of 29 August 2013 by the Ministry of Power says the project comprises both inter-state and intra-state schemes.

Ajmer and Bikaner, two of the keyed districts, give their names to substations on the inter-state part in a Lok Sabha answer of 17 November 2016. The answer lists projects for which POWERGRID sought an Asian Development Bank loan.

The corridor elements it lists include an Ajmer (New) – Bikaner (New) 765 kV line, a Bikaner (New) – Moga 765 kV line, and a new 765/400 kV substation at Bikaner (New).

That answer covers only the elements tied to one loan, so it is a partial list of the corridor's works. RPSC's key gives the group Ajmer, Chittorgarh, Bikaner.

Tie the corridor in Rajasthan to the 765 kV line from Ajmer (New) to Bikaner (New).

Why the others are wrong

• (2)
  Jodhpur, Jaipur, Alwar — RPSC's key does not select this group.

  The inter-state corridor elements in the Lok Sabha answer of 17 November 2016 are at Ajmer (New) and Bikaner (New), with a line on to Moga. This group contains neither Ajmer nor Bikaner.

• (3)
  Udaipur, Bhilwara, Jaipur — RPSC's key does not select this group.

  None of Udaipur, Bhilwara or Jaipur is among the places named for the corridor's inter-state elements in the 2016 Lok Sabha answer, which are Ajmer (New), Bikaner (New) and Moga.

• (4)
  Kota, Ajmer, Jodhpur — RPSC's key does not select this group, although it includes Ajmer.

  In the 2016 Lok Sabha answer, Ajmer (New) is one end of a 765 kV line whose other end is Bikaner (New). The keyed group has Ajmer with Bikaner; this group pairs Ajmer with Kota and Jodhpur instead.

The Green Energy Corridors add transmission capacity for renewable power. A Lok Sabha answer of 19 March 2015 describes the project as evacuating renewable power from generation points to load centres, and adds that it includes Renewable Energy Management Centres for forecasting and scheduling.

It has two parts. A Lok Sabha answer of 8 December 2016 says the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved an intra-state transmission system in eight renewable-energy-rich States, including Rajasthan, at an estimated Rs 8,548.68 crore, and that POWERGRID implements the inter-state component.

The same answer puts the Government of India's contribution, from the National Clean Energy Fund, at Rs 3,419.47 crore.

Key facts

• Lok Sabha answer, 29 August 2013 (Ministry of Power): the Green Energy Corridors comprise inter-state and intra-state schemes for evacuating wind and solar power.
• Lok Sabha answer, 17 November 2016: inter-state Green Energy Corridor elements include an Ajmer (New) – Bikaner (New) 765 kV double-circuit line.
• The same answer lists a Bikaner (New) – Moga 765 kV line and a 2x1500 MVA, 765/400 kV substation at Bikaner (New).
• Lok Sabha answer, 8 December 2016: the intra-state Green Energy Corridor covers eight States, including Rajasthan, at an estimated Rs 8,548.68 crore.
• Lok Sabha answer, 19 March 2015: KfW signed soft-loan agreements with POWERGRID (EUR 500 million), Tamil Nadu (EUR 76 million) and Rajasthan (EUR 49 million).

Common traps

• Treating one partial list as the whole corridor. The 2016 Lok Sabha answer names only the elements for one loan, so a district missing from it is not thereby off the corridor.
• Mixing the two parts. POWERGRID implements the inter-state component, while the intra-state component covers transmission inside eight States, Rajasthan among them.
• Stopping at Ajmer. Option (4) also names Ajmer; the keyed group is the one that has Ajmer together with Bikaner.

UnlockIAS compared this question with questions from other RAS Prelims papers and found none similar enough to link.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Green Energy Corridors project is mainly meant to –

  • (a)evacuate power from renewable energy projects into the grid
  • (b)build highways for electric vehicles
  • (c)lay pipelines for city gas distribution
  • (d)plant green belts along national highways
  Answer(1) — A Lok Sabha answer of 29 August 2013 describes the project's inter-state and intra-state schemes as being for evacuation of power from wind and solar projects. Options (2), (3) and (4) describe roads, gas pipelines and tree planting, not transmission of renewable power.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  The inter-state component of the Green Energy Corridor is implemented by –

  • (a)POWERGRID
  • (b)NTPC
  • (c)RVPN
  • (d)SECI
  Answer(1) — A Lok Sabha answer of 8 December 2016 says the inter-state component is implemented by POWERGRID (PGCIL). Option (3), RVPN, appears in the 2016 ADB-loan answer as owner of a line within Rajasthan; option (2), NTPC, and option (4), SECI, are not named as the implementing agency.