The mega wonders of microgrids

The announcement on June 23 of a partnership between SoftBank, Airtel and Foxconn for investing $20 billion in India for solar and renewable energy projects is welcome news. Tens of gigawatts of solar and wind generation will augment today's electricity supply. The investment will also be used to manufacture solar panels.

As renewables percentage in the generation mix rises, thanks to large-scale solar projects and distributed generation, the grid experiences sudden drop in supply as the sun sets. As a result, the loads during evenings have to be met using quick-ramping power plants, typically gas-fired. This phenomenon, called the "duck curve", was first noticed in California. It is so called because of the peculiar shape of the load profile resembling the neck of a duck, resulting from a sharp drop in supply at sunset.

While solar deployments increase the average electricity supply, shortages arise at certain hours that have to be met by conventional, fossil-fuel based power plants, for which new investments are necessary. Such generation is also expensive since the generation plant is used only for a short time. Moreover, such plants defeat the very value proposition of clean, solar projects.

One way to overcome this need to build conventional power plants is to deploy storage in the grid, typically batteries and occasionally fly-wheels. Storage systems enable quick ramp-up of supply at sunset, but are costly.

Microgrids complement the grid
Yet, a way, not typically discussed, would be to deploy solar panels as a part of microgrids. With microgrids, the resilience in supply can be achieved through a clustering of microgrids, each with complementary assets some with more wind, some in proximity to rivers, some with plenty of surface for solar panels and some with battery banks shared with other microgrids.

In other words, a federation of microgrids can achieve stable electricity supply at lower cost without the existing megagrid as back up or as an anchor of last resort. The topology of the future electricity grid might be as a honeycomb, as in cellular telephone systems, or as fractals. Today, little research addresses novel electricity topologies, and, thus, presents opportunities for cutting-edge innovation.

Relying on the research of countries such as the US will not do; their use scenarios, for example, jails, military bases, high-rise buildings, are distinct from India's. India needs microgrids for electricity access at the lowest cost and not as a supplement during emergencies such as snowstorms and hurricanes. The UN's SE4ALL programme and the World Bank's work is helpful advocacy, but insufficient. India needs scalable, investment-grade project definitions and an execution oriented approach.

Microgrid economics
What about the economics of individual microgrids, as standalone systems first, before clustering them? IIM Kozhikode students, with engineering and finance training, developed a techno-financial model of our campus as a 2 Mw microgrid comprising solar panels, batteries and diesel generators. We used internet-derived pricing data for hardware and the campus' historical load profile. Our conclusion: The price/unit is Rs 11 and lower, depending on financing assumptions.

Over 300 million Indians, and 1.3 billion people around the world, pay many times more when they burn kerosene or wood for light or cooking. And, this price is lower than today's diesel-based generation at Rs 15+/unit. But isn't this higher than today's grid electricity price? It is, for now. Whereas the price/unit of coal-based electricity will rise over time, solar and battery systems prices will fall with scale economics and technical advance.

Further, today's grid electricity is subsidised, delivered over a loss and theft prone system (over 30 per cent in some cases), and excludes the cost of emissions. Microgrids are greener and cleaner. Complementary microgrid clusters also lower costs through resource sharing and Demand Side Management (DSM), which controls peak hour loads.

What do we do?
India's public policy must include microgrids as an intrinsically future-friendly solution that defers or avoids fossil fuel investments, in addition to offsetting the "duck curve" phenomenon. Today, no microgrids, unlike Solar Home Systems (SHS), are deployed in India.

India needs a few dozen microgrids, 0.5 to 5 Mw each, for different use situations - campuses, hospitals, residential neighbourhoods, shopping malls, office buildings, business parks, enterprise zones and high schools. Their economics and technical performance - with multiple generation sources, control and DSM - need to be publicly available to encourage business investments.

Microgrids extend the reach of electricity to millions without access to grid power; complement SHS; offset load in congested areas, on campuses, hospitals and; help with grid stability as renewables proportion increases in the generation mix.

The missing ingredient is positive public policy. What organisational arrangement will foster plentiful, clean and universally available electricity?

For goals in plain English Successors to Millennium Development Goals should be achievable - and clearly written

By 2030 reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births." Everyone understands what this statement means. It is simple, comprehensible, concise, specific and quantifiable. In September 2015, the Milennium Development Goals, or MDGs, will be replaced by sustainable development goals, or SDGs. There are several parallel channels flowing into SDG formulation. One of these is theOpen Working Group (OWG) and that set of proposals on SDGs now has 17 goals and 169 targets. What I have just quoted is target 3.1, under goal 3 of ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being at all ages.

There has been a Plain English movement, especially since the 1980s, though it has often focused on legal English. Among several Plain English guides, there is a common refrain - short, crisp sentences and no sentence longer than 20 words. This is a principle most successful columnists also follow. Thus, there is no problem with understanding 3.1. It's a different matter that 70 for MMR by 2030, the target year for achieving SDGs, is well-nigh impossible. The global MMR is probably around 210 now. Though the future needn't necessarily be extrapolated from present trends, the MDG period (2000 to 2015) reduction experience suggests 70 by 2030 is asking for the moon. A number like 100 would have been more plausible.

I plead for patience, because I am going to give you three quotes. Here is target 2.4, under goal 2 of ending hunger, achieving food security, improving nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture. "By 2030 ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters, and that progressively improve land and soil quality."

Here is target 4.7, under goal 4 of ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting life-long learning opportunities. "By 2030 ensure all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including among others through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship, and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture's contribution to sustainable development."

Finally, here is target 17.18, under the additional requirement of data, monitoring and accountability. "By 2020" - that's not a typo, it is 2020 - "enhance capacity building support to developing countries, including for LDCs and SIDs (small island developing), to increase significantly the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data disaggregated by income, gender, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national context."

Other than 2030, do you understand what the first two quotes intend to achieve? I think you will be forced to conclude the following: "If you ask me for a straight answer, then I shall say that, as far as we can see, looking at it by and large, taking one thing with another in terms of the average of departments, then in the final analysis it is probably true to say, that at the end of the day, in general terms, you would probably find that, not to put too fine a point on it, there probably wasn't very much in it one way or the other. As far as one can see, at this stage."

The third quote is different. At least, one understands what it means. But can you imagine what it will take for 193 countries to produce such data by 2020?

In fairness, language in targets will be convoluted if goals try to address multiple objectives at the same time. Consider goal 6. This states, "Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. This reminds me of a shotgun shooting a large number of pellets in the hope that something somewhere will stick. Notice that each pellet of a shotgun has limited power. To have power, one needs focus. If one is not shooting birds (or clay pigeons) and is engaged in the serious business of setting multilateral targets for 2030, this isn't how one goes about it.

Once upon a time, people who travelled on trains used hold-alls. (I am not using the term in its British or American sense). Everything went into a hold-all. Hold-alls have now virtually vanished and one shouldn't use SDG goals and targets as hold-alls.

With MDGs, there were eight goals, 21 targets and, depending on how you count, 60 indicators. In case of SDGs, if we start with 169 targets, we will probably end with 600 indicators. 169 has nothing to recommend it except for the mathematical trivia that 13x13 = 169 and the even more interesting trivia that, with digits reversed, 31x31 = 961. Since SDGs are serious business and not trivia, one hopes in September, goals and targets are pruned and language simplified.

The Copenhagen Consensus Centre has done extremely interesting work on where (out of 17 goals and 169 targets) development money is best spent and what peoples' priorities are. These two important criteria will knock down quite a few of those goals/indicators.

Isro gets ready for its heaviest commercial PSLV launch on Friday

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), the workhorse of Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) which has proven its strength even in the interplanet missions, is readying itself to perform the heaviest commercial mission undertaken by the ISRO's commercial arm Antrix Corporation Ltd, on Friday night.

The 62 and half hour countdown activity of PSLV-C28/DMC3 Mission has commenced at 07:28hr (IST) on Wednesday. The launch is scheduled at 21:58 hr on July 10, 2015 fromSriharikota space station, near Chennai. Of the five British satellites, together weighing around 1,440 kg, three are identical DMC3 optical earth observation satellites each weighing 447 kg.

On Thursday, Isro said that the countdown operations are progressing normally. "Preparations for Mobile Service Tower (MST) withdrawal and Propellant filling operation of second stage (PS2) are in progress," it said. On Wednesday, it has been carrying out various stages of fule filling operations. This would be the first commercial launch of Isro this year.

It may be noted, on Tuesday, the Isro's Launch Authorisation Board (LAB) gave its nod for the July 10 launch. The Mission Readiness Review (MRR) committee and Launch Authorisation Board (LAB) have cleared the starting of the countdown on the day.

The British satellites will be put into a 647-km sun-synchronous orbit. Of the other two satellites, CBNT-1 weighs 91 kg and also is an optical earth observation technology demonstration microsatellite, while the De-OrbitSail weighs 7 kg.

Isro said that this is an experimental nano satellite for demonstration of large thin membrane sail and drag deorbiting.

The three DMC3 and the CBNT-1 satellites are built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. The De-OrbitSail is built by Surrey Space Centre.

The three satellites each with a height of about three metres within the existing payload fairing or the heat shield of the PSLV was a challenge. Thus, a circular L-adaptor and a triangular Multiple Satellite Adapter-Version 2 (MSA-V2) were newly designed and realised by Isro for this specific purpose, said Isro.

The PSLV-XL, which costs around Rs 140 crore, is operated in four stages and has a vehicle lift-off mass of 320 tonne and a height of 44.4 metre.

According to Isro sources, so far the heaviest exclusive commercial mission the Space Organisation handled was in the PSLV-C23, launched on June 30, 2014. The launch vehicle PSLV-C23, with a height of 44.4 metres, lifted off at 9.52 am on that day, carrying SPOT-7, a 714 kg, French earth observing satellite as the main payload, which was injected into a 655 km Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO). Other satellites include 14 kg AISAT of Germany, NLS7.1 (CAN-X4) & NLS7.2 (CAN-X5) of Canada each weighing 15 kg and the 7 kg VELOX-1 of Singapore.

The second heaviest commercial launch was in September 9, 2012, when the PSLV-C21 carried Frech satellite SPOT-6 weighing 712 kg and Japanese satellite PRIORITIES weighing 15 kg.

Interestingly, the highest number of foreign satellites were commercially launched by ISRO in April, 2008, when it launched eight satellites from various countries inclding Canada, Japan, The Netherlands, Denmark and Germany, in PSLV-C9 mission. However, the total weight of these eight satellites was 48.5 kg.

From 1999, the Space Organisation has so far launched 40 satellites of other countries through PSLV, both in exclusive missions and along with the Indian satellites.

Mars Orbiter Mission

India's prestigious interplanetary mission Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) is expected to see extended life as it has come out of the short black out period healty, said Isro Chairman Kiran Kumar in Chennai.

Speaking to the reporters here, he said, "Mangalyan satellite has come out of its black out phase and is orbitting well which means we can extend the Mars mission duration,"

It may be noted that the mission, which reached the Mars orbit on September 24, 2014, was expected to have a life time of six months and in March, the Space Research Organisation announced that its life has been extended to another six months, considering the 1,340 kg orbiter has sufficient fuel left to do so.

However, the risk was that there was a black out phase, of 15 days in June, during when the Satellite would not be visible to the Earth bound communicators, resulting in a communication black out. Reddy, today said that the orbiter has come out from the communication black out healthy.

Speaking about the Isro's role to find missing Coast Guard's Dornier aircraft, he said the plane should emit some sort of radio frequency for them to find out the source. The sea bed can't be mapped as it would be like searching a needle in a hay stack, he added. The Coast Guard Dornier Aircraft CG 791, deployed for surveillance along the Tamil Nadu Coast and Palk Bay from the Coast Guard Air Station Chennai last evening failed to return to the base on June 9, 2015. While search has been going on continuously, there were no positive signs of finding out the missed flight so far.

On SAARC satellite, promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kumar said Isro is currently researching on frequency and spectrum location to place the satellite. Once it is all finalised, the work will commence.

It may be noted during his first visit to Isro after he took over as Prime Minister, Narendra Modi announced that India will gift a satellite to SAARC countries.

Sexual Harassment?

·        What is Sexual Harassment? Sexual harassment is any unwelcome sexually defined behaviour which can range from misbehaviour of an irritating nature to the most serious forms such as sexual abuse and assault, including rape.   The Sexual Harassment of Women (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013 defines sexual harassmentto include any one or more of the following unwelcome acts or behaviour (whether directly or by implication) namely:          i.            physical contact and advances        ii.            a demand or request for sexual favours       iii.            making sexually coloured remarks      iv.            showing pornography        v.            any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature. ·        What is sexual harassment at workplace? Sexual harassment at the workplace is any unwelcome sexually defined behaviour which has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with the individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, abusive or offensive working environment. The Sexual Harassment of Women (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013 states that if the following circumstances  occur or are  present in relation to, or connected with any act or behaviour of sexual harassment, it may amount to sexual harassment at the workplace:    I.            Implied or explicit promise of preferential treatment in her employment in her employment; or II.            Implied or explicit threat of detrimental treatment in her employment; or III.            Implied or explicit threat about her present or future employment status; or IV.            Interference with her work or creating an intimidating or offensive or hostile work environment for her; or V.            Humiliating treatment likely to affect her health or safety. ·        Quick checklist: Is your work environment free from sexual harassment? Most women themselves fail to recognize sexual harassment and treat it as trivial and routine. Take a look at the checklist below and fill a check mark (√) to an appropriate box. Check items Yes No 1.      You have supervisors or colleagues that you want to avoid working together 2.      You feel that somebody is constantly staring at you 3.      The number of female and male workers is not well-balanced 4.      There are times when supervisors or colleagues touch your body 5.      There are uncomfortable incidences at my workplace but I tolerate it with my patience 6.      My supervisor sometimes asks me out for dinner 7.      I stay obedient to whatever my supervisor says as I do not want to lose my job 8.      I receive some jokes and comments related to my appearance 9.      My supervisor frequently asks me about my personal life 10.  I often receive emails irrelevant to my work from a colleague/supervisor If you have many check marks under “Yes”, your work environment may not be free from sexual harassment. If you are in doubt, discuss with trusted colleagues, and do not stay silent.  ·        What should you do if you experience sexual harassment? If you experience sexual harassment, take action to stop it. Speak up at the time: Be sure to say "NO" clearly, firmly and without smiling when you experience sexual harassment as that is the best way to let the harasser know that his or her behaviour is offensive. If you are asked to go places, do things, respond to questions, or engage in situations that make you uncomfortable, say "NO" emphatically and clearly and do not worry about offending the other person or hurting his or her feelings. Objecting to the behaviour when it occurs helps if you decide to file charges later. Keep records: Keep track of what happens in a journal or diary and keep any letters or notes or other documents you receive. Keep copies of any offensive material at the workplace. Write down the dates, times (including frequency of offensive encounters), places, and an account of what happened. Write down the names of any witnesses. Every document that you use during trial must be authenticated by a witness. Keep this in mind during your depositions when the defense asks you where you obtained a document. If you are not clear about where you got the document, and who can authenticate it, you will not be able to use it during your trial. Take all letters of commendation, awards, thanks you's and anything at all that will corroborate your positive job performance. Pay special attention to documents that your superiors have provided lauding you and your work. If possible, ask your clients, staff, and peers for letters of commendation. Talk to someone you can trust: Being quiet or stoic about sexual harassment lets it continue. Talk to other co-workers, union members, family members or friends whom you can trust. You may not be the only one harassed by this person. Create a witness: Inform a trusted colleague and try to insure that s/he is an eye or ear witness to a situation where you are being sexually harassed. This will be useful later if you chose to file a formal complaint. Report sexual harassment to the appropriate person in the organization: Explore the different avenues available to you and file a formal complaint if necessary. If your organization does not have a policy, ensure that your employer formulates an anti-sexual harassment policy and carries out all the connected tasks. Get a medical check-up: If you have been raped or physically assaulted, go for a medical check-up. Obtain a medical report. This is important, should you decide to pursue a legal case. ·        Can an aggrieved file a civil suit in a case of sexual harassment in the workplace? Yes, a civil suit can be filed for damages under tort laws. The basis for filing the case would be mental anguish, physical harassment, loss of income and employment caused by the sexual harassment. ·        Under what circumstances can complaints be filed? Complaints may be filed under the following circumstances: ·        Cases involving individuals from the same organization ·        Cases that concern third party harassment, which implies harassment from an outsider. ·        Where can I file a complaint? o       Internal Complaints Committee – if you are an aggrieved woman who has a relationship of work with that specific organization o       Local Complaints Committee – if you are an employee from an establishment where the Internal Complaints Committee has not been constituted due to having less than 10 workers. In the case that the complaint is against the employer himself/herself and the individual feels that the case may be compromised, she can also lodge the complaint in the LCC  o       For instances where the LCC may not be immediately accessible, the Act instructs the District officer to designate one nodal officer in every block, taluka and tehsil in rural or tribal area and ward or municipality in the urban area, who will receive the complaint and forward it to the concerned LCC within 7 days. o       Local police station, in case provisions under the Indian Penal Code are applicabl

CSIR-Neeri Develops a E-Nose for Environmental Monitoring

CSIR-Neeri Develops a E-Nose for Environmental Monitoring: Sniffs out the Dangerous Stuff

Nagpur based National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) of Department of Electronics and Information Technology of the Government of India have jointly developed an ‘Electronic Nose’ for environmental monitoring that can help sniff out a variety of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and odorants at a pulp and paper mill industry with a prime objective to protect the health of thousands of workers working in this industry. This portable device measures odour concentration and odour intensity.

This has been the first attempt in India to develop such a product using odour sensors that make use of intelligent software to identify odorous molecules. It is also possible to train the software by feeding information based on observation of experts.  

The pulp and paper industry emits a variety of gases, namely, hydrogen sulphide, methyl mercaptan, dimethyl sulphide, and dimethyl disulphide all of which beyond a certain concentrations may adversely affect the environment and human health, This newly developed Electronic Nose helps in continuous monitoring of these gases, overcoming all limitations of the available analytical instruments that are not only expensive and time-consuming. The Electronic Nose can easily be operated at a pulp and paper mill industry and is currently functioning successfully at The Mysore Paper Mills Limited, Bhadravathi, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu Paper Mill.  Besides, it also establishes a correlation between sensory and analytical measurements for the sulphurous odorants generated from pulp and paper industries, tanneries and distilleries.

The Electronic Nose uses an array of sensors that function on the principle similar to that of human olfaction. The sensor array generates a pattern based on the type of aroma. The patterns obtained are trained to help interpret and distinguish amongst various odors and odorants as well as to recognize new patterns using advanced mathematical techniques, such as pattern recognition algorithms, principal component analysis, discriminant function analysis, cluster analysis, and artificial neural networks.

The researchers are currently working on the application of Electronic Nose to monitor gas emissions from any source, be it an industry or leakage of petroleum pipes going through fields or farms.  

Sensor array

Comprehensive approach for Border Area Development Programme

Comprehensive approach for Border Area Development Programme

The Department of Border Management of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), has issued modified Border Area Development Programme (BDAP) guidelines in consultation with all Stakeholders viz. concerned Ministries/Departments of Government of India, State Governments implementing the BADP, Border Guarding Forces and NITI Aayog.

The modified guidelines include important modifications in the BADP guidelines as follows:

(i) Coverage of BADP has been extended to cover all the villages which are located within the 0-10 Km of the International Border, irrespective of the border block abutting on the International Border or not of 17 States which constitute the International Land Borders. However, priority will be given to those villages which are located within 0-10 Km from the International Border and within that the villages identified by the Border Guarding Forces (BGF) shall get upper-most priority.

(ii) Representatives of some more Union Ministries viz. Ministry of Rural Development; Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs; Ministry of Health & Family Welfare; and Ministry of Human Resources, have been made Members of the Empowered Committee (EC) on BADP under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Department of Border Management, MHA, to ensure convergence with the schemes of these Ministries with BADP schemes.

(iii) The list of schemes permissible under BADP has been expanded to include schemes/ activities relating to Swatchhta Aabhiyan; Skill Development programmes; Promotion of sports activities in border areas; Promotion of Rural Tourism/ Border Tourism; Protection of heritage sites; Construction of helipads in remote and inaccessible hilly areas, which do not have road connectivity; Skill development training to farmers for the use of modern/ scientific technique in farming, Organic farming, etc.

(iv) Provision for Third Party Inspection and Quality Control Mechanism under MHA for random inspections of the BADP schemes by independent Monitors (Individual/ Agency) to be designated as National Quality Monitors has been made.

(v) It has been provided that the State Governments shall have the monitoring of the BADP schemes by the existing District Level Monitoring/ vigilance Committee where local Members of Parliament and MLAs are represented.

(vi). Special/Specific area schemes such as composite development of at least one village of sizeable population surrounded by five-six or more villages close to the border as Model Village; Swachh Bharat Abhiyan: Construction of toilets in schools, public places particularly for women; warehouses for food grains and fodder in hilly areas particularly in snow bound areas of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, E-chaupals, agrishops, mobile media vans etc. have been made.

The Border Area Development Programme (BADP) has been implemented through 17 States (viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal) which constitute the International Land Borders. It is implemented in 367 Border Blocks of 104 Border Districts in these 17 States.

The main objective of the BADP is to meet the special developmental needs and well being of the people living in remote and inaccessible areas situated near the international border and to saturate the border areas with the entire essential infrastructure through convergence of Central/ State/ BADP/ Local schemes and participatory approach. The funds under BADP are provided to the States as a 100% non-lapsable Special Central Assistance. The programme is supplemental in nature and the budget allocation for the financial year 2015-16 is Rs.990 crore.

The BADP was started in the year 1986-87 for balanced development of border areas of States bordering Pakistan, namely, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Gujarat and Rajasthan and subsequently it was extended to all the land borders. 

India and United States Signs Inter Governmental Agreement (IGA) to Implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)

India and United States Signs Inter Governmental Agreement (IGA) to Implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) to Promote Transparency on Tax Matters

Mr. Shaktikanta Das, Revenue Secretary of India and Mr. Richard Verma, U.S. Ambassador to Indiasigned here today , an Inter Governmental Agreement (IGA) to implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) to promote transparency between the two nations on tax matters. The agreement underscores growing international co-operation to end tax evasion everywhere. The text of the signed agreement will be available on the website of the Indian Income Tax Department (www.incometaxindia.gov.in)and the website of U.S. Treasury (www.treasury.gov).

The United States (U.S.) and India have a long standing and close relationship. This friendship extends to mutual assistance in tax matters and includes a desire to improve international tax compliance. The signing of IGA is a re-affirmation of the shared commitment of India and USA towards tax transparency and the fight against offshore tax evasion and avoidance. 

Revenue Secretary, Shaktikanta Das stated, “Signing the IGA with U.S. to implement FATCA today, is a very important step for the Government of India, to tackle offshore tax evasion. It reaffirms the Government of India’s commitment to fight the menace of black money. It is hoped that the exchange of information on automatic basis, regarding offshore accounts under FATCA would deter tax offenders, would enhance tax transparency and eventually bring in higher equity in to the direct tax regime which necessary for a healthy economy.”

Ambassador Verma, who signed on behalf of the United States, stated, “The signing of this agreement is an important step forward in the collaboration between the United States and India to combat tax evasion. FATCA is an important part of the U.S. Government’s effort to address that issue.”

FATCA is rapidly becoming the global standard in the effort to curtail offshore tax evasion. To date, the United States has IGAs with more than 110 jurisdictions and is engaged in related discussions with many other jurisdictions.

The United States enacted FATCA in 2010 to obtain information on accounts held by U.S. taxpayers in other countries. It requires U.S. financial institutions to withhold a portion of payments made to foreign financial institutions (FFIs) who do not agree to identify and report information on U.S. account holders.  As per the IGA, FFIs in India will be required to report tax information about U.S. account holders directly to the Indian Government which will, in turn, relay that information to the IRS.  The IRS will provide similar information about Indian account holders in the United States. This automatic exchange of information is scheduled to begin on 30^th September, 2015.

Both the signing of the IGA with U.S. as well as India’s decision to join the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) on 3^rd June, 2015 are two important milestones in India’s fight against the menace of black money as it would enable the Indian tax authorities to receive financial account information of Indians from foreign countries on an automatic basis.