India is unique in terms of diversity, scale, capacity, and its potential as well as performance and the world feels that this is best option for 21st century: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.
In a statement, he added: "When the history of the 21st century will be written, the chapter of India's solar revolution will be written in golden letters." He was speaking on his address at the 4th edition of Global Renewable Energy Investors Meet and Expo, known as RE-INVEST 2024, in Gandhinagar.
India is building the foundation for growth for the next 1000 years, and the focus is not just on the top line but to maintain the leaderboard. And in the first 100 days, you can see our priorities, speed, and scale, he said.
He further added that in the first 100 days of his third term, his government had tried to address every sector and factor for fast progress of the country.
India knows its energy requirement to become a developed nation by 2047 and since the country does not have its own oil and gas resources and is not energy-independent, it has decided to build its future on the strength of solar, wind, nuclear and hydro power, said Modi.
"India's diversity, scale, capacity, potential and performance are unique and that is the reason I say Indian solutions for global application. The world is understanding this very well. Not just Indians, today the entire world feels India is the best bet for the 21st century," he asserted.
"For us, green future and net zero are not just fancy words. These are requirements of the country and we are committed to achieving it. The government is working to develop Ayodhya and 16 other cities as model solar cities," he said at RE-INVEST 2024.
Modi said that his government has taken many big decisions in the green energy sector and quoted a few examples, such as the viability gap funding scheme for offshore green energy projects with an outlay of Rs 7000 crore and more than that, approval of Rs 12,000 crore for 31,000 MW hydro power generation.
"We are working towards making this country one of the three economies; 140 crore people are working with the commitment. Today's event is not in isolation but is part of a big vision and mission. It is part of our action plan to make India a developed nation by 2047," said the PM.
Underlining the speed and scale of work done by his government, the prime minister said a decision was taken to build seven crore houses for the poor, of which four crore had been completed in his second term itself.
He said the third term will build another three crore houses, clearances for construction of 12 industrial cities, eight high-speed road corridor projects, and more than 15 Made-in-India semi-high speed Vande Bharat train launches were approved.
The Union government has set apart a Rs 1 trillion research fund apart from taking several initiatives for electric mobility and high performance bio manufacturing, Modi said.
His third term was due to the huge aspirations of people and the trust 140 crore Indians, including youth, women, and poor, reposed on him, the PM said.
India is the first G20 country to meet climate commitments made in Paris nine years before the deadline. It is a feat no other G20 nation has achieved. We did what developed nations could not do, he said.
Claiming that India was working on multiple levels towards the 500 GW target of renewable energy, Modi said the 'PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijlee Yojana' was "a unique rooftop solar scheme" for which the government provides funds and helps in installation of the solar rooftop in every household.
With this scheme, every household is going to become a power producer, he said, adding 13 million families have registered for it, while 3.25 lakh households have completed installation.
"Every family connected to the scheme will make a big contribution to fight climate change. When the history of the 21st century will be written, the chapter of India's solar revolution will be written in golden letters," he asserted.
The government is working to make Ayodhya a "solar city" where all households, all offices, all services will run on solar energy, Modi said.
As many as 17 such cities have been identified to be developed as solar cities, he added.
Farmer Empowerment through Solar Power : The PM said that solar power is being used to empower the farmers and make them self-independent by helping them set up solar pumps and smaller solar plants.
"Every sector connected to renewable energy is working on a bigger scale and speed," he said
Modi said Mahatma Gandhi's belief that India has enough resources to meet everyone's needs but not greed has emerged from the country's great tradition.
Modi told the nation the country had good reasons to distance itself from such commitments on issues like net zero and green future but chose to tell the world "we are a people who care for the future of humanity".
This is the philosophy of pro-people planets, and therefore, the country has given the world a vision of Mission LIFE, has taken the initiative of International Solar Alliance, he said, adding that a global biofuel alliance was also launched during the G20 summit.
"India is trying to become a global leader in the green hydrogen sector. For this, we have launched a green hydrogen mission of Rs 20,000 crore. Waste to energy campaign is underway. To address challenges of critical minerals, we are promoting a circular approach," said the PM.
Demand for renewable energy is on an upward swing in India and the Union government is framing new policies to meet this demand as well as providing all support, he said.
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