People at the centre of India’s energy ambitions, says PM

NEW DELHI: India has put people at the centre of its energy ambitions as it drives towards becoming a developed economy, prime minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday, leveraging the country’s demographic strength to make a strong pitch for overseas investments.

“India is not only developing itself but also driving global growth. The energy sector has a significant role. India’s energy ambitions are built on five pillars: harnessing resources, encouraging innovation, economic strength & political stability, leveraging strategic location for energy trade, and commitment to global sustainability,” the PM said in his virtual address at the third India Energy Week.

“The next two decades are important for making India a developed country,” the prime minister said, adding the focus is on supporting local manufacturing and supply chains through policy reforms and tariff reductions.

He pointed out India’s rapid economic strides in the last 10 years and the goal of becoming a developed country to underline the immense scope for overseas investments for meeting the rising energy demand as millions come out of poverty.

“The government is empowering the public to strengthen its energy sector… Ordinary families and farmers have been made energy providers,” the prime minister said referring to the government’s ethanol blending and rooftop solar schemes to underscore the social and climate dividends of his government’s policies.

Both these schemes are raising the incomes of farmers and participating households, respectively, while reducing carbon emission.

Additionally, as the prime minister pointed out, the solar rooftop scheme “is creating new skills in the solar sector, developing a new service ecosystem, and increasing investment opportunities”.

The 2030 target of 500 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, turning railways into a net-zero entity, and annual production of five million tonnes of green hydrogen may appear challenging. But India has demonstrated its capability to achieve this, he said.

“India is the first G20 country to achieve the carbon reduction target set at the Paris climate summit… ethanol blending has reached 19% and we will achieve the target of 20% blending before the October 2025 target,” Modi said.

Offering a comfort level to investors, the prime minister said several discoveries and expanding infrastructure are widening the gas market, while many sedimentary basins remains untapped. All these offer scopes for investments.