Goa, Feb 7:
Highlighting that the newly proposed rooftop solarisation scheme would make one crore families self-reliant in the energy sector, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said there is a great potential for investment in the entire solar value chain.
In his inaugural address at India Energy Week 2024 in Goa, the Prime Minister noted that India’s solar energy installed capacity in the past decade has grown by more than 20 times.
“Today, India ranks fourth in the world in renewable energy installed capacity,” he said while stating that 40% of India’s installed capacity comes from non-fossil fuels.
In her interim Budget speech last week, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a rooftop solarization scheme to cover one crore households and enable them to get up to 300 units free electricity every month.
Outlining the government’s commitment to transforming rural economies through the Waste to Wealth Management model, the Prime Minister highlighted the government’s efforts towards sustainable development.
“We are working towards the installation of 5,000 compressed biogas plants in India,” he announced.
Touching upon India’s stride in the green hydrogen sector, Modi highlighted the National Green Hydrogen Mission which will pave the way for India becoming a center of hydrogen production and export.
He expressed confidence that India’s green energy sector can make both investors and industries a sure shot winner.
Noting that India Energy Week 2024 is taking place at a significant time period when India’s GDP rate crossed 7.5% in the first six months of the financial year, the Prime Minister said that the growth rate is higher than the global growth estimate making India the fastest growing economy in the world.
“Economic experts around the world believe that India will soon become the 3rd largest economy in the world,” Modi said and emphasized the expanding scope of the energy sector in India’s growth story.
The Prime Minister noted that India is the world’s third largest energy, oil and LPG consumer. Furthermore, he said India is the fourth largest LNG importer and refiner along with the fourth largest automobile market.
He noted rising production of domestic gas due to the government’s reforms and the country is making efforts to take the percentage of gas in the primary energy mix from 6 to 15%.
“This will see an investment of about 67 billion dollars in the next 5-6 years,” he informed.
He also underlined rising demand of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country. He also talked about the estimates of doubling of the nation’s energy demand by 2045.
Addressing global environmental concerns, Prime Minister Modi remarked, “Despite being home to 17% of the world’s population, India’s carbon emission share is only 4%.”
He added, “We are committed to further improving our energy mix by focusing on the development of environmentally sensitive energy sources.”
The Prime Minister reiterated India’s goal to achieve Net Zero Emissions by 2070.
