PM Modi calls on the world to invest in India’s energy sector

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called upon global investors to actively participate in India’s march towards a sustainable and prosperous future by increasingly investing in its renewable and new energy sector. 

Addressing the inaugural session of the second edition of the India Energy Week, being held in Goa, the prime minister said India's energy demand is projected to double by 2045 and it is necessary that the country lead by example in reshaping the global energy scenario. 

He said much of the Rs1,11,111 crore capital expenditure proposed in the interim budget, presented in Parliament on 1 February will go towards financing energy sector investments.

The India Energy week is not just about India, but on what India can offer to the world and the world can offer to India, the prime minister said, adding that the country offers investment opportunities of $67 billion just as it moves to raise the share of natural gas in its energy mix from 6 per cent to 15 per cent.

The country’s investment requirements would multiply as it has set an ambitious target of attaining 500 Giga Watts of renewable capacity by 2030, and a net-zero carbon emissions target by 2070, the prime minister pointed out.

India is the world's third-largest consumer of oil and LPG, fourth-largest importer of LNG, and 85 per cent of crude oil that it needs to feed its huge refining capacity. A shift away from fossil fuels would also help the country save much of its expenditure in oil imports.

The prime minister said India remains one of the fastest growing economies and the expansion of the energy sector is needed to maintain or exceed the current rate of growth of the country’s GDP.

Listing the government’s various green initiatives, the prime minister said an increase in the ethanol blending in petrol to 12 per cent in 2023 has brought about a 42 million tonne reduction in carbon emissions and that it is planned to raise the ethanol blending target to 20 per cent by 2025.

He also said the government has initiated plans for setting up 5,000 compressed biogas (CBG) plants across the country. These plants will utilise biomass as part of its “waste-to- energy” initiative, he added.

India already is a major producer of solar power and is looking at increasing the share of wind power in the country’s energy mix, he said.

He highlighted the Budget announcement of the Pradhan Mantri Suryoday Yojana, a rooftop solar scheme aimed at reaching free electricity to 10 million households, which also would create investment opportunities within the solar value chain.

Modi also said that India will emerge as a leader in the production of green hydrogen and green ammonia.