New Delhi / Gandhinagar, Sep 16 (Mayank Nigam) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday reiterated that “Green Future, Net Zero” are not just fancy words but they reflect India’s commitment towards combating climate change. Addressing the inaugural function of the 4th edition of the Global RE-Invest summit at Mahatma Mandir, in Gandhinagar, the Prime Minister said, “We are making this green transition a people’s movement”. During his speech, the Prime Minister pointed that India, being a developing nation, had met its target committed in the Paris agreement ahead of the deadline. “India is the only country among G20 nations to have fulfilled all the climate commitments made in Paris nine years before the deadline. A developing nation has achieved what developed nations could not,” he added.
The Prime Minister said for achieving a 500 GW renewable energy target by 2030, we are working at multiple levels. Inviting global companies to invest in India’s “green transition”, Modi said India was the “best bet” in the 21st century. “Today, not only Indians but the entire world feels that India is the best bet of the 21st century” he said. Speaking about the summit, PM Modi said, “The 4th Global Re-Invest Renewable Energy Investors Meet marks a milestone in our comprehensive plan to transform India into a developed nation by 2047.” “The initial 100 days of our third term have set the stage, displaying our priorities, rapid progress, and ambitious scale. This is just the beginning, with many more initiatives to follow, building on the base of our first 100 days,” he further added. Talking about his government’s PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, which funds families to set up solar rooftops, PM Modi informed that 1.30 crore families have registered under the scheme, and 3.25 lakh households have installed solar rooftops.
PM Modi said, “Every 3 kilowatts of solar electricity generated will prevent emission of 50-60 tonnes of carbon dioxide”. He also said that while Ayodhya was being turned into India’s first model solar city, his government planned to build 17 solar cities in India where all services and utilities would run on solar power. “Ayodhya is the birthplace of Lord Ram. And he was a ‘Suryavanshi’… A grand temple has been built but Ayodhya is also moving forward to become a model solar city. The work is almost done… We have identified 17 such cities in India that will be developed as solar cities” he said. Throwing light on the developments in the green energy sector in the last 100 days, the Prime Minister mentioned the initiation of a viability gap funding scheme for offshore wind energy projects worth more than Rs 7000 crore. He said that India is working towards producing 31,000 megawatts of hydropower in the coming times with an outlay of Rs 12,000 crore.
PM Modi also interacted with beneficiaries of the ‘PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijlee Yojna’ scheme in Gandhinagar. The scheme, launched on February 29, aims to increase solar rooftop capacity and empower households to generate their own electricity. A subsidy covers 60 per cent of the cost for systems up to 2 K W capacity and 4per cent for systems between 2 to KW capacity. The PM spent 20 minutes at the residential complex. The 4th Global Renewable Energy Investor’s Meet and Expo (RE-Invest) is poised to highlight India’s impressive progress in renewable energy manufacturing and deployment. Germany, Australia, Denmark and Norway are taking part in the event as partner countries. Gujarat is the host state and Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh are participating as partner states.