(MC)
Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel, Dharmendra Pradhan, on September 10 said that India has to improve the availability of energy to over 1.3 billion people, “whose per capita energy consumption is lower than the global average”. Addressing a session on ‘Advancing Inclusive Access to Secure, Affordable, and Sustainable Energy Services’ during the 8th Asian Ministerial Energy Round table 2019 in Abu Dhabi, Pradhan said that energy is “extremely crucial” to the overall socio-economic development of India.
“Now, India is the third-largest energy consumer in the world. The projected energy demand growth is 4.2 percent per annum up to 2035,” Pradhan said. “Our share of total global primary energy demand is set to double to 11 percent by 2040. We are preparing for such a growth path of energy demand in the country,” Pradhan added.
Talking about the Energy Vision of India, enunciated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016, Pradhan stated that it is based on the four pillars of “energy access, energy efficiency, energy sustainability, and energy security”. “As part of our integrated approach towards energy planning during the last five years, energy justice will be a key objective in itself,” Pradhan said. The Union minister said that India is also working towards the early realisation of the seventh goal under United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs).
