Dailyhunt | India's economic resilience based on decisive government, sustained reforms, grassroots empowerment: PM Modi

Feb 06,2023

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the India Energy Week (IEW) 2023 in Bengaluru on Monday and launched a series of initiatives including uniforms under the 'Unbottled' programme of Indian Oil made from recycled PET bottles.

The Prime Minister underlined the major role of the energy sector in setting the direction of the future of the 21st-century world.

Referring to the recently released IMF projections of India being the fastest-growing major economy, PM Modi said India has continued to be the global bright spot in the world stricken with the pandemic and the era of war in 2022.

The Prime Minister elaborated on the massive social infrastructure including, financial inclusion through bank accounts, free health facilities, safe sanitation, electricity, housing, and piped water that has reached crores of people and changed the lives of a number of people who are more than the population of many major countries.

He informed that 6,00,000 kilometres of optical fibers have been laid in the country so that every village gets internet access.

He further added that the number of internet users in rural regions is growing at a faster pace when compared to urban areas. The Prime Minister informed that India has become the second largest manufacturer of mobile phones in the world which has led to the formation of the world's largest aspirational class.

Emphasising the need and demand for energy in India in the near future, the Prime Minister noted that the rapid pace of development in India will result in new cities being developed. Quoting International Energy Association, the Prime Minister remarked that India's energy demands will be highest in the present decade which presents an opportunity for the investors and stakeholders of the energy sector.

The Prime Minister explained four major verticals for the strategy for the energy sector. First, increasing domestic exploration and production, diversifying the supply, and third, expanding fuels like biofuel, ethanol, compressed biogas and solar. Fourth, de-carbonisation via electric vehicles and hydrogen.

"We are continuously making our refining capacity indigenous, modern and upgraded", he said. Similarly, India is working to enhance Petrochemical production capacity. He asked the leadership of the industry to utilise technology and the startup ecosystem of India to expand their energy landscape.

"The government is trying to increase the capacity of LNG Terminal regasification", the Prime Minister said.

He also added that the number of CGDs in the country has gone up 9 times and the number of CNG stations has gone up to 5000 from 900 in 2014.

Highlighting India's emphasis on domestic exploration and production, the Prime Minister informed that the EP sector has shown interest in the areas hitherto considered inaccessible. "We have reduced the 'No-Go' areas. Due to this, a 10 lakh square kilometre area has been freed from the restrictions of No-Go. I would urge all the investors to make use of these opportunities, and increase your presence in the exploration of fossil fuels", he said.

"The National Green hydrogen mission will give a new direction to the India of the 21st century", the Prime Minister remarked. He underlined that the country is aiming to produce 5 MMTPA green hydrogen by the end of this decade which brings in the possibility of investments of more than Rs 8 lakh crore. He also added that India will increase the share of green hydrogen to 25 per cent by replacing grey hydrogen.

The Prime Minister also touched upon the crucial subject of battery cost in EVs and noted that its cost is 40-50 per cent of the cost of the car. He informed that the government has started a PLI scheme worth 18,000 crores which will be a significant step towards manufacturing advanced chemistry cells of 50 GigaWatt hours.

The Prime Minister gave a detailed exposition of emphasis on renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable transportation and green technologies in the new budget. 35,000 crores have been kept for priority capital investment to push energy transition and net-zero objectives. Provision for 10 lakh crore rupees capital expenditure will give a push to green hydrogen, solar to road infrastructure.

India, he said, is at number four in wind power capacity. "We are aiming to have 50 per cent non-fossil fuel capacity by the end of this decade.

Referring to the E-20 rollout today, the Prime Minister said that the first phase of the rollout will cover 15 cities and within two years it will be expanded to the entire country.

"This is happening in two ways: Firstly, fast adoption of renewable sources of energy and secondly, adoption of effective methods of energy conservation", the Prime Minister explained as he noted the rapid adoption of renewable sources of energy by the citizens of India.

"More than 3 crore households will have access to solar cooktops within the next 2-3 years. With more than 25 crore families in India, this will bring a revolution in the kitchen."

The Prime Minister linked India's effort for Green Growth, and Energy Transition with Indian values of where circular economy is part of every Indian's lifestyle and Reduce, Reuse and Recycle is part of the culture. He said initiatives of recycling plastic bottles into uniforms will strengthen Mission LiFE.

Governor of Karnataka, Thawar Chand Gehlot, Chief Minister of Karnataka, Shri Basvaraj Bommai, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri and Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Rameshwar Teli were present on the occasion among others.

The event has brought together leaders from the traditional and non-traditional energy industry, governments, and academia to discuss the challenges and opportunities that a responsible energy transition presents.

The leaders from the energy sector in India and across the world, as part of the mega event, met PM Modi and said the Prime Minister appreciated the suggestions made by international oil agencies.

"Today, amazing meeting with the Prime Minister who addressed the world leaders - Shell, Total, OPEC chairman - I have never seen presence like this about energy security, renewable, alternative fuel. I have no doubt India is a most attractive place for exploration of oil and gas," he said.

"Leaders from the oil sector in India and across the world met the PM. He appreciated the suggestions from international oil agencies. Everybody focused on India's effort for decarbonisation. PM highlighted green budget for this year," he said.

"It's an honour and privilege to be here in India Energy Week. No less than Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been sending clear and strong guidelines on how to navigate a difficult energy transition," he said.

Shrikant M Vaidya, Chairman, of Indian Oil Corporation referred to green initiatives in the union budget