Andalib Akhter / NEW DELHI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that India’s energy sector would be growth-centric, industry-friendly and environment conscious.Mr Modi said, India believes that access to energy must be affordable and reliable that is when socio-economic transformations can take place.

Inaugurating the Fourth India Energy Forum by CERAWeek, through video- conference, the Prime Minister assured that India’s energy future is bright and secure.

He said, India is among the most active nations in furthering renewable sources of energy. The Prime Minister said, India’s energy will energize the world as energy security is at the core of our efforts.

The Prime Minister said that a self-reliant India will also be a force multiplier for the world economy. Mr Modi said, India’s energy plans aims to ensure energy justice while fully following our global commitments for sustainable goals.

He said, this means more energy to improve the lives of Indians but with a smaller carbon foot-print. Mr Modi said, India is the third largest and the fastest growing aviation market in terms of domestic aviation.

He said, India will always work keeping in mind global goals and we are well on track to meet the commitment we made to the global community.

He said, we had aimed to increase the renewable energy installed capacity by 175 Giga Watt by 2022 and we have further extended this goal to 450 Giga Watt by 2030.

He said, India has one of the lowest carbon emissions than rest of the industrialized worlds.The Prime Minister said, India’s reform journey has been on high speed for the last six years and The energy sector has seen many path-breaking reforms.

He said, the country’s refining capacity will increase from about 250 to 400 MMT per annum by 2025 and increasing domestic gas production has been a government priority as well.

He said, the government has planned to achieve One Nation, One Gas Grid and shift towards a gas-based economy.

The Prime Minister said, in the last six years, over 11 million smart LED street lights were installed and this has enabled an estimated energy saving of 60 billion units per year.

He said, the estimated greenhouse gas emission reduction with this programme is over 4.5 crore tonnes of CO2 annually.

He said, we also save around Rs. 24 thousand crore annually from the same.

The Prime Minister said, it is due to such interventions that reports have said that India is the most attractive emerging market for clean energy investment.

The Prime Minister said, India’s energy map will have seven key drivers and these drivers of change include accelerating our efforts to move towards a gas-based economy, cleaner use of fossil fuels particularly petroleum and coal and Digital innovation across all the energy systems.