Vinod Bhat
New Delhi: Union Minister of Education, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and New & Renewable Energy, Shri Pralhad Joshi, addressed the session on “Securing the Sustainable Future: Energy Resilience, Clean Technologies, and Global Partnership” at the 31st CII Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam today.
Referring to the MoUs exchanged at the summit, Shri Joshi noted that 17 Memoranda of Understanding and 3 Government Orders in the renewable energy sector represent investments worth ₹43,871 crore with an employment potential for around 4,700 people. He said these commitments demonstrate that India and Andhra Pradesh are “walking the talk” on clean energy and sustainable growth.
Highlighting India’s energy security progress, the Minister recalled that peak demand has risen from 123 GW in 2012 when a major grid collapse left North India in darkness for nearly 72 hours to 270 GW recently. This demand was met without interruption, with nearly 33% coming from non-fossil sources, under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Shri Chandrababu Naidu.
Shri Joshi underlined the importance of decentralized renewable energy saying that in Andhra Pradesh alone, 7.86 lakh households have been connected with rooftop solar. He added that, Nationally, under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, 66 lakh households have already benefited, against an initial target of 1 crore. Installation pace has improved dramatically from 118 days for the first 1 lakh installations to an average of 6 days now, with the Ministry aiming for 5 days shortly. He noted that farmers and households are not only achieving zero electricity bills but also earning from excess power generation.
On the broader renewable energy journey, the Minister pointed out that solar capacity has grown from 2.8 GW in 2014 to 175 GW today. Non-fossil sources now account for about 55% of India’s total installed power capacity, putting the country firmly on track to achieve the 500 GW non-fossil capacity target by 2030. He reiterated Prime Minister Modi’s vision of “Zero Defect, Zero Effect” manufacturing and stressed that green energy will enable India to become a global green manufacturing hub.
Shri Joshi described India and Andhra Pradesh, under the leadership of Shri Narendra Modi and Shri Chandrababu Naidu an excellent and safe destination for investment due to political stability, policy consistency, and strong execution. He also referred to the upcoming PM-KUSUM 2, which will further solarize agricultural equipment and pumps.
Shri Joshi concluded by reiterating that India as a manufacturing hub will be powered by green energy giving our products a strong advantage in global markets.
