Electricity buyers may see lower costs as the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) reviews transaction fees charged by power trading exchanges. The review is taking place alongside the regulator’s push to introduce market coupling, a long-awaited reform aimed at improving efficiency in price discovery, increasing liquidity and bringing uniformity to electricity prices across trading platforms. Over time, the combined effect of these changes is expected to reduce the overall cost of power procurement. Market coupling was approved by CERC in July this year after more than two years of discussions and is proposed to be rolled out in stages, starting with the day-ahead market (DAM) from January 2026. Once implemented, buy and sell bids from all power exchanges will be pooled together to determine a single market-clearing price, replacing the existing system under which prices differ across exchanges. An official said that the regulator has finalised a staff paper titled ‘Review of Transaction Fee charged by the Power Exchanges’ in December 2025. According to the official, who spoke to PTI on the condition of anonymity, CERC is assessing whether the current transaction fee cap of 2 paise per unit is still appropriate at a time when traded volumes have risen sharply and the market is transitioning towards a unified price discovery mechanism. Among the options being discussed is a fixed transaction fee of 1.5 paise per unit for most trading segments. Under the present framework, power exchanges generally charge close to the permitted ceiling. Another proposal under consideration is a lower fee of 1.25 paise per unit for term-ahead market (TAM) contracts, reflecting their longer tenure and comparatively lower operational intensity. India’s exchange-based power market has seen rapid growth over the past decade. Electricity traded through exchanges has increased more than 16 times since 2009-10, with total traded volumes exceeding 120 billion units in 2023-24. While the day-ahead market previously accounted for nearly all exchange-based trading, real-time, intra-day and term-ahead segments now make up an increasing share. Industry experts believe market coupling will help reduce price disparities across exchanges, improve the use of generation capacity and allow buyers to access power at more efficient rates. “Since bids are aggregated across all exchanges, prices are expected to converge and soften to some extent, benefiting distribution companies and large consumers and eventually end-users,” one expert told PTI.At present, Indian Energy Exchange dominates the segment, accounting for nearly 90% of exchange-based power trading volumes, with Power Exchange India Ltd (PXIL) and Hindustan Power Exchange Ltd (HPX) accounting for the rest. Under the approved framework, all three exchanges will act as Market Coupling Operators on a rotational basis, while Grid-India will serve as a backup and audit operator to safeguard system integrity. Officials pointed out that transaction fee structures will gain added significance once exchanges cease competing on price discovery. With transaction fees contributing more than 95% of revenues for established exchanges, any revision is expected to have a meaningful impact on the sector. The official said discussions on transaction fees are still at an early stage, and any changes will be finalised after stakeholder consultations, keeping in mind the broader objective of improving efficiency, transparency and affordability in India’s power markets.

Last Updated:December 28, 2025, 10:40 IST

Ashwini Vaishnaw highlights India’s electronics manufacturing boom with Make in India, ECMS, record Rs 1.15 lakh crore investments, 1.42 lakh jobs, etc.

News18

India’s push to become a global manufacturing hub in electronics and increase export share with Make in India schemes and production-linked incentives in the past few years has borne fruit now. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw shared a thread on X highlighted the rising growth of India in electronics manufacturing, along with the creation of jobs and attracting record investments.

Highlighting the impact of government-led manufacturing policies, Vaishnaw said the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS) is playing a key role in shifting India’s focus from assembling finished products to building a strong component ecosystem. Under the scheme, 249 applications have been received, committing investments worth Rs 1.15 lakh crore. These projects are expected to generate Rs 10.34 lakh crore worth of production and create 1.42 lakh jobs, marking the highest-ever investment commitment in India’s electronics sector.

Self-Reliant In Semiconductor Manufacturing

Alongside component manufacturing, India is also making progress in the semiconductor space. The minister said 10 semiconductor units have been approved so far, with three already in pilot or early production stages. Once fully operational, fabrication units and ATMP (Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging) facilities based in India are expected to supply chips directly to domestic mobile phone and electronics manufacturers, reducing import dependence.

Vaishnaw further noted that electronics manufacturing has already created 25 lakh jobs over the last decade, calling it “real economic growth at the grassroots level.” He added that as semiconductor manufacturing and component ecosystems scale up, the pace of job creation is likely to accelerate further.

“This is the ‘Make in India’ impact story,” Vaishnaw said, underlining how manufacturing-led growth is strengthening India’s position in the global electronics value chain.

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