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AHMEDABAD: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the country was moving briskly forward in its efforts to “reduce its carbon footprint by 30-35%” and exuded confidence that the target of renewable energy production would be achieved “before time”.
“We have set a target of 175 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2022 and 450 gigawatts by 2030. It’s a big target, but I am confident of achieving it,” Modi said while speaking at the eighth convocation of Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (PDPU) via video conference. The PM said there are chances of exponential growth for the energy sector in India along with growth for enterprising spirit and employment.
Reliance Industries Ltd chairman Mukesh Ambani, who is president of the board of governors at PDPU, said he was confident that India would be among the top three economies of the world in the next two decades, “In the post-Covid era, I clearly foresee explosive and exponential growth in the Indian economy,” he said.
Modi said efforts were on to improve the share of natural gas fourfold this decade and to double the oil refining capacity in the next five years.
Stating that the energy sector will see massive investment this decade, Modi said students have a plethora of opportunities, from research to manufacturing. “You are in the right sector at the right time,” he told the students.
Acknowledging the hardships caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Modi likened the current period to the Independence movement and exhorted students to champion the cause of Atmanirtbhar Bharat.
Ambani added that a lot of opportunities would be created by young entrepreneurs. “By the middle of this century the world will use twice as much energy as we use today. In the next two decades, India’s per-capita energy needs will be more than twice as much as today,” he said. He said India has to simultaneously pursue the two goals of becoming an economic superpower and of becoming a green and clean energy superpower.
