India will be “energy independent" by the time it celebrates its hundredth independence day in 2047, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday.
“The country’s energy import bill is over Rs 12 lakh crore annually. It is a need of the times for India to be energy independent for the progress and growth of the nation. We will have to take a pledge to make India energy independent before 100 years of India’s independence,” he said at Red Fort in Delhi for his annual Independence Day speech.
Modi’s comments came a few months before India is projected to miss an earlier goal that he had set of cutting crude oil import dependence by 2022.
Stressing on this new target, Modi said, “We have a clear roadmap for this charted out. This includes India’s well-defined goals of a gas-based economy, a nationwide Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Piped Natural Gas (PNG) network, and a 20 per cent ethanol blending target.”
“India has also taken steps towards electric mobility, and complete electrification of the Indian Railway network. The Indian Railways has targeted becoming a net zero carbon emitter by 2030,” he said, highlighting the role of the transport network in these plans.
Around 45,881 Route kilometers (RKM) or 71 per cent of the total Broad-Gauge (BG) network of Indian Railways (64,689 RKM, including Konkan Railway) has been electrified by March 31, 2021. The Central Organisation for Railway Electrification plans to electrify all BG routes of Indian Railway by December 2023.
Modi also said the nation is emphasising on Mission Circular economy. “The digital scrap policy is an example of the same. India is the fast moving towards achieving its climate change mitigation goals. There will be 450 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2030, of which 100 GW has been attained before time,” he said.
“These give confidence to the global community,” he added.
PM Modi also batted for increasing the use of Green Hydrogen as a cleaner alternative fuel. He aimed for India to become a global hub for the same. “The Green Hydrogen sector is going to give India a quantum jump towards clean energy. I am announcing a National Hydrogen Energy mission to achieve these goals,” Modi said.
“We have to make India a global hub of green hydrogen production and export. This will make India self-dependent in the energy sector and become a source of inspiration for those who are indulging in energy transition,” he added.
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