New Delhi, March 27 (IANS) Stressing upon energy security, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India will have to be independent in this area and seek new avenues to replenish existing sources in a bid to serve the growing appetite of the people. The view was echoed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
"We need to be independent when it comes to providing our people with energy," Modi said, while inaugurating the "Urja Sangam - 2015" international conference on energy security at the Vigyan Bhavan conference complex here.
He also pitched for people who are well-off to surrender their fuel subsidy entitlement.
"People who don't need LPG (cooking gas) subsidy and those who are capable of managing without it should give it up. I ask you to join this movement. Give up gas subsidy. Create a record. The subsidy that you will give up will go a long way in benefitting the poor people."
People are already giving up their subsidy, Modi said and added that "over 2.8 lakh consumers have surrendered LPG subsidy, resulting in a saving of Rs.100 crore to the exchequer".
He called for bringing down oil and gas imports to 67 percent by 2022, and lower it further to 50 percent by 2030.
"We will be celebrating 75th year of our independence in 2022. Today, we import 77 percent of our oil and gas. Can't we target lowering of imports at least by 10 percent by 2022 to pay tribute to those who sacrificed their life for our freedom," Modi said.
Jaitley said the government required to pay attention to oil exploration to reduce the country's energy imports.
"Need to look at our oil exploration programme, acquisition of assets overseas to cut dependence on energy imports," Jaitley said at the valedictory session of the conference.
Infrastructure development and the creation of smart cities will all add to economic activity and will increase the need for oil, gas and power, he said.
According to Modi, energy corridors need to be developed between India and the Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia.
The international energy conference "Urja Sangam 2015: Shaping India's Energy Security" is being attended by cabinet ministers, policy makers, global chief executives (CEOs) of energy firms and academia.
At the conference, Power and New and Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal said the country can save up to $7 billion annually by replacing incandescent lamps with energy efficient LED bulbs.
“We have set challenging targets to save energy as energy conservation has an equally important role to play with generation. We are looking at savings of nearly 100 billion units of power, by the use of LED lights, translating into $7 billion annually,” he said.
In the next three years, LED bulbs are going to completely replace the current incandescent bulbs, he added.
Amarnath Cloudburst: The hope of survival of anyone is decreasing, if this happens then there will be charisma, read every update so far
The third day of the ongoing rescue operation since the influx near the Amarnath cave on Friday evening passed in despair. Rescue teams searched the drains ranging from debris, water, and snow, but
Dictator Kim Jong Un arrived to inspect nuclear drills, a serious warning to enemies
North Korea is continuously conducting missile tests. North Korea has conducted several missile tests this year. Meanwhile, on Monday, local media KCNA reported that Kim Jong-un inspected the places
Taiwan: Preparing to deal with China's challenge, America sold dangerous weapons to Taiwan's military
The US has approved the sale of arms worth $619 million to Taiwan. Under this, Taiwan will now be able to get F-16 Fleet missiles. The US move comes at a time when the Chinese Air Force recently
Monkeypox: WHO again alerts on increasing cases of monkeypox, said - data is being reviewed
The World Health Organization (WHO) has again alerted to the increasing cases of monkeypox. Dr. PK Singh, Regional Director of WHO South-East Asia Region, said that cases of monkeypox are being
'Shop owners do not need to disclose their names', UP government gets a jolt over nameplate dispute; SC stays the decision.
The Supreme Court today heard the case of the Uttar Pradesh government's order to hotels on the Kanwar Yatra route to display the names of their owners. After the hearing, the court has stayed the
Kejriwal chose Perfect Victory over Perfect Party
From the happenings of recent weeks, it will be tempting to deduce that Arvind Kejriwal is a Stalinist who, like all autocrats, hates democracy and dissension and loves yes-men. That's what Prashant
CNG became expensive again, even today the price increased by Rs 2.5; Know the prices of all cities including Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Kanpur,
The rising prices of petrol and diesel for the past few days put a brake on Thursday, but the price of CNG did not stop rising. On Thursday, Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) increased the price of CNG
Bigg Boss 19: Neelam-Shahbaz discussed Mridul Tiwari's changed behaviour, said- I heard abuses from his mouth and...
Bigg Boss 19 is getting very exciting this week. Recently, the quarrel between Kunika and Tanya caught everyone's attention. Now Shahbaz Badesha is making headlines after his wild card entry. In the
MLA Extortion Case: Attempts to cheat on the pretext of making a minister in Maharashtra, demanded 100 crores from three BJP MLAs
It has been more than 15 days since the new government was formed in Maharashtra under the leadership of Eknath Shinde, but the cabinet has not been formed. Surprisingly, a thug gang tried to cheat
Fear of destabilizing Modi government in India… China spews poison on peasant movement, linked to radical movements of the world
China has grown up on the pretext of an ongoing protest against central agricultural laws in India. He has shown how he dreams of seeing instability and coup in India in the same way as in some parts
