There’s nothing more likely to cause consternation and confusion that a bungled translation. When I was a representative of the UK at the International Radio Frequency Registration Board a few years back in Geneva, a very fast speaking Indian caused mayhem when the translators couldn’t keep up and try to put their own interpretation on what the speaker was trying to say. He was either saying that the satellite earth station  at Goonhilly Downs, Cornwall, was an example of a well-run and tidy (in radio frequency spillage terms) earth station establishment, or that it was blasting off counter-frequencies in all directions and interfering with international satellite traffic and should be closed down.  It took two weeks of careful diplomacy after his speech to calm matters down and get at the truth.

Lost in Translation
Arun Jaitley

Pity then  Arun Jaitley,  the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Defence of the Union cabinet of India and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He gave an important Budget speech which was available in Hindi and English, that should have been identical in all respects. But there was one difference…And it had the wind energy industry teetering between hope and despair.

This was because it wasn’t clear which version is right.

The Hindi version promised the re-introduction of a tax break. The English one, which the finance minister actually read out in Parliament, said nothing about a tax break, Cue confusion!

The tax concession is so attractive that, when originally introduced, it persuaded many of the rich and famous, including Indian film star Aishwarva Rai to invest in wind farms.

A line on Page 22 of the Hindi speech reads: “Pavan urja ka tvarit vikas karne kay liye main tvarit avmulyan kay fayde ko punh bahal karne ka prastav raktha hun. Which, translated is: “I proposed to reintroduce the benefits of accelerated depreciation to accelerate the growth of wind energy.”  

There was nothing of the sort in the read-out English version of the speech.

Wind turbine makers, especially in India, have been pressing the government for two years to reinstate the benefit. Now they don’t know if celebrations will be premature.

In typical Civil Service fashion, officials were unable to offer any clarifications in response to floods of queries and complaints from the wind industry. An Indian government official said the ministry would take up the matter with the finance ministry. “We are hopeful that the outcome will be favourable for the wind power sector,” the official told ET.  But why the delay?

In the recent past, investors could write off 80% of their investments in wind energy in the very first year, helping them save income tax and install captive power generation capacity to reduce electricity bills. t is estimated that about 16,000 MW of the country’s total 21,262 MW installed wind capacity have benefited from this accelerated depreciation. When it was withdrawn, unsurprisingly, the wind energy industry suffered a severe drop in new wind farm installations.

wind turbines in India

In 2012-13, India added only 1,700 MW of wind power capacity as compared to 3,200 MW in 2011-12 after the benefit was ended. In 2013-14, the industry performed a little better, with capacity addition of 2,000 MW.

India is still one of the biggest wind energy producers in the world as it continues to reduce its dependence on oil and coal, and become a greener country. Let’s hope future announcements are the same in Hindi and in translation; and that it will be good news for wind!

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