Our energy sector will be growth-centric and environment conscious: PM Modi at India Energy Foum
Mr. Tribhuvan Darbari, MD & CEO – Texmaco (Adventz Group) participated in Day 1 of the Fourth Annual India Energy Forum by CERAWeek being organized from 26 – 28 October 2020. Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the 4th edition of the India Energy Forum and outlined a new energy map of India with seven key drivers: Accelerating efforts to move towards a gas-based economy, cleaner use of fossil fuel, greater reliance on domestic sources to drive biofuels, achieving renewables target of 450 GW by 2030, increasing contribution of electricity to de-carbonize mobility, moving into emerging fuels like hydrogen and digital innovation across all energy systems. “The energy agenda in India is inclusive, market-based, and climate-sensitive,” said Hon’ble Shri Dharmendra Pradhan Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Minister of Steel.
Lauding India’s efforts of energy conservation, PM Modi said, “In the last six years, over 11 million smart LED street lights were installed. This has enabled an estimated energy saving of 60 billion units per year. The estimated greenhouse gas emission reduction with this programme is over 4.5 crore tonnes of carbon dioxide annually and monetary savings of around Rs. 24,000 crore annually.”
“Leading global bodies project that global demand will contract for the next few years. But these agencies project India as a leading consumer,” he said.
Mr. Tribhuvan Darbari mentioned that India’s energy consumption has doubled since the year 2000 and is expected to more than double by 2040, which will account for one-fourth of the global increase in that same period. Energy and electricity growth will therefore become crucial for powering the country’s future.
Mr. TS Darbari further commented that renewable energy will also play a huge part in India’s economic growth. If India is to reach the target of 40% renewables by 2040, $120-130 billion dollars will be required for the implementation of its renewable energy target of 175 GW by 2022.
Dr. Daniel Yergin, Vice Chairman, IHS Markit commented that the Indian Energy sector is undergoing a transformation with a relentless focus on outcomes.
Several government officials highlighted the increasing importance significance of India in the global energy ecosystem.
H.E. Mohammad Barkindo, Secretary-General, OPEC commented that India’s enthusiastic support for the producer-consumer dialogue has contributed enormously to help restore stability to global oil markets during the unprecedented downturn in 2020. H.R.H. Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Minister of Energy, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia observed that oil prices are cyclical and oil demand will recover. Hon. Dan Brouillette, Secretary of Energy, United States reiterated the strong bilateral relationship, particularly in energy between India and the USA.
Mr. TS Darbari applauded the initiative of Ceraweek. Mr. TS Darbari also appreciated the vision of our Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Other CEOs highlighted the strong alignment between their company strategies and India’s energy transition in areas such as natural gas, renewables, bioenergy and mobility. Speakers throughout the day emphasized the need to find a good balance between economic growth and sustainability, between providing energy to the poor and dealing with climate change. It was clear from the conversations that a wide spectrum of technologies ranging from EVs, batteries, Hydrogen, Biofuels and Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage will be necessary as India’s economic development continues.
The day 2 program on Tuesday, 27th October starts at 3 PM IST. We will start with IHS Markit expert briefings on Upstream and gas/LNG. Speakers today include Hon. Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs; Hon. Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways and Minister of Commerce & Industry and Hon. Shri Dharmendra Pradhan Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Minister of Steel.
