PM Modi seeks green energy investment: Potential ‘no less than gold mine’

Addressing a post-Budget webinar on ‘green growth’, which is one of the seven top priority areas listed in the Budget, Modi said that India’s commanding position in the renewable energy space will ensure a commensurate change in the world. This was the first in a series of webinars that are scheduled till March 11. The webinars will be focussed on synergising efforts of ministries and stakeholders for preparing action plans with quarterly targets so that implementation of budget proposals is “front ended and smooth with timely achievement of intended outcomes”.

Referring to the global efforts for diversification of the energy supply chain, PM Modi said that the Budget has given a great opportunity to every green energy investor to invest in India, and it will also be beneficial to startups in the sector.

India has been the fastest when it comes to renewable energy capacity addition among major economies since 2014, Modi said, adding that the country’s track record proves its ability to achieve objectives in the green energy space well ahead of schedule.

Modi counted various examples of targets being met ahead of time. India met the target of having 40% share of non-fossil fuels in the installed electricity capacity nine years ahead of schedule. The country also achieved the target of 10% ethanol blending in petrol five months before time, adding that the deadline for achieving 20 per cent blending has been brought ahead by five years to 2025-26.

Modi said that under the National Green Hydrogen Mission, India is working to achieve the target of 5 million tonnes per annum of green hydrogen production capacity by 2030, adding that the government has allocated Rs 19,000 crore to incentivise the private sector in this segment.

The Prime Minister said that using waste to create fuels has a lot of potential in India, particularly in segments like producing ethanol from farm waste and biogas from agricultural and municipal waste.

“Because of these possibilities, today the Gobardhan Yojana is an important component of India’s biofuel strategy. In this budget, the government has announced plans to set up 500 new plants under the Gobardhan Yojana. These are not like old-fashioned plants. The government will spend Rs 10,000 crore on these modern plants,” Modi said.

On the scrapping of old vehicles, PM Modi said that it is a crucial part of India’s green growth strategy, and that vehicle scrapping will become a huge market in India.

Modi said that India has huge potential to lead the world when it comes to green energy technologies. “This budget is not only an opportunity, but it also contains the guarantee of our future security”, the Prime Minister said, urging all stakeholders to act expeditiously to implement Budget provisions.

Thursday’s webinar has six breakout sessions on green growth. Besides ministers and secretaries of concerned ministries, numerous stakeholders from state governments, industry, academia and research institutions, and public sector enterprises are participating in the sessions.