Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said that securing affordable and sustainable energy is a top priority for India. Speaking at the India Economic Summit in New Delhi, he said, the price volatility and concerns about sustained oil supplies have made consuming countries vulnerable given the fact that India, along with most South Asian countries, have a major dependency on crude oil and gas imports. The Minister said that it is only natural that the global energy deliberations pay close attention to the developments in energy sector in India. He said, this has a lot to do with the emergence of India as third-largest energy consumer in the world, and the fact that India is playing a leading role globally by implementing several transformative initiatives to reduce energy poverty in the country.
Mr Pradhan said, to transform India into a 5 trillion dollar economy, it is imperative to increase energy availability to 1.3 billion people, whose per capita energy consumption is lower than the global average. He said, the energy demand is estimated to grow at 4.2 percent per annum up to 2035. The Minister said, the approach to re-energize India will be guided by the Energy Vision of India, as enunciated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, covering the four pillars of energy access, energy efficiency, energy sustainability and energy security. As part of the integrated approach towards energy planning, energy justice will also be a key objective in itself.
Mr Pradhan said that India will increase the share of non-fossil fuels, by increasing renewable energy capacity to much beyond 175 GW by 2022, and later upto 450 GW. He said, the transport sector will be made green through e-mobility.
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