Staff Reporter / New Delhi
Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has appealed to the Indian students from various top global universities to come and innovate in India, to explore the emerging opportunities.
He was interacting with a vibrant group of young overseas Indian scholars, students and friends on Saturday on last-mile energy access in India.
Articulating India’s energy vision, Mr Pradhan said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has envisioned a clear roadmap for India’s energy future which rests on five key enablers of energy availability and accessibility for all, energy affordability to the poorest of the poor, efficiency in energy use, energy sustainability for combating climate change as a responsible global citizen and energy security for mitigating global uncertainties. He said the government has introduced the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana scheme in 2016 to provide LPG cooking gas connections, free of cost to 80 million poor households.
About self-reliance in the oil and gas sector, Mr Pradhan said, the government has set a target for reduction of 10 percent in energy import dependency by 2022. He also talked about India’s energy diplomacy and said, India has made its presence felt in the global energy map.
Speaking about India’s transition to gas-based economy, he said, the country is set to emerge as one of the primary drivers of growth in gas demand in Asia, despite the pressing Covid-19 challenges.