New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while referring to the wastage of electricity in India as compared to other countries, said that the deficit of the country’s distribution sector is in double digits, whereas in developed countries of the world, it is in single digits. This means that there is a lot of wastage of electricity here and therefore, the country has to generate more electricity than needed to meet the demand, he added.
Modi said that the country would be surprised to know that the outstanding dues of different states are more than ₹1 lakh crore. While advising the states to clear their electricity dues at the earliest, Prime Minister said that the state governments should consider when the citizens honestly pay their electricity bills on time, and why the states have arrears again and again.
Prime Minister Modi was addressing the program Ujwal India Bright Future – Shakti@2047 through video conferencing on Saturday. Referring to the amount owed to the states, he further said that they have to give this money to the power generation companies. Electricity distribution companies owe more than ₹60,000 crores to many government departments, and local bodies also. These companies are not able to get even the money that has been committed for subsidy on electricity in different states on time and in full. He said that this arrear is also more than ₹75,000 crore. That is, about ₹2.5 lakh crore are stuck for those who are responsible for making electricity available from door to door. He said that the need of the hour is to find a proper solution to this challenge by all the states of the country. For the rapid development of the country, it is very important that the infrastructure of the power and energy sector should always be strong, it should always be modern.
Emphasising on saving electricity, Prime Minister said that it is like decorating the future. PM Kusum Yojana is a great example of this, under this, the government is providing the facility of solar pumps to the farmers, helping to install solar panels on the side of the fields. Ujala Yojana has also played a big role in reducing the electricity bill of the common people of the country. He said that every year more than ₹50,000 crores are being saved in the electricity bill of the poor and middle class because of LED bulbs in the homes. This strategy may seem like good politics in the short term.
Modi said that in today’s new India, work is being done in this direction to enable people to generate electricity in villages. Today’s program is a symbol of new goals and new successes of the new India of the 21st century. In this Azadi Ka Amrit Kaal, India has started working on the vision for the next 25 years. The energy and power sector has a huge role to play in accelerating India’s progress in the next 25 years.
The strength of the energy sector is also important for the ease of doing business and equally important for the ease of living. The project which has been launched today worth thousands of crores is an important step toward India’s energy security and green future. There has been a lot of discussion in the past years about running hydrogen gas from the country’s vehicles to the country’s kitchen. He said that today India has taken a huge step for this. Work on two big green hydrogen projects in Ladakh and Gujarat is starting from today. The plant being set up in Ladakh will produce green hydrogen for vehicles in the country. This will be the first project in the country which will enable the commercial use of green hydrogen-based transport. For the first time in the country, the project of blending green hydrogen in piped natural gas has also started in Gujarat.
Modi said that till now we have blended ethanol in petrol and air-fuel, and now we are moving towards blending green hydrogen in piped natural gas. Eight years ago, we took the initiative to transform every part of the country’s power sector.
