India best bet for 21st century, its solar revolution a golden chapter, says PM Modi

Gandhinagar: India is unique in terms of diversity, scale, capacity, potential as well as performance and the world feels the country is the best bet for the 21st century, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday.

When the history of the 21st century is written, the chapter of India's solar revolution will be written in golden letters, the PM said in his address at the 4th edition of Global Renewable Energy Investors Meet and Expo (RE-INVEST 2024) in Gandhinagar.

He also said his government in the first 100 days of its third term had tried to address every sector and factor for the country's rapid progress.

"India is preparing the base for development for the next 1000 years and the focus is not just to reach the top but to sustain the rank. In the first 100 days, you can witness our priorities, speed and scale," he said.

India knows its energy requirements to become a developed nation by 2047. Since the country does not have its own oil and gas resources and is not energy independent, it has decided to build its future on the strength of solar, wind, nuclear and hydro power, Modi said.

"India's diversity, scale, capacity, potential and performance are unique and that is the reason I say Indian solutions for global application. The world is understanding this very well. Not just Indians, today the entire world feels India is the best bet for the 21st century," he asserted.

"For us green future and net zero are not just fancy words. These are requirements of the country and we are committed to achieve it. The government is working to develop Ayodhya and 16 other cities as model solar cities," he said at RE-INVEST 2024.

Modi said his government has taken many big decisions in the green energy sector, including the viability gap funding scheme for offshore green energy projects with an outlay of Rs 7000 crore, as well as approval of more than Rs 12,000 crore for 31,000 MW hydro power generation.

"India's 140 crore people are working with the commitment to get the country into the top three economies. Today's event is not an isolated one but part of a big vision and mission. It is part of our action plan to make India a developed nation by 2047," the PM said.

Highlighting the speed and scale of his government's work, the PM said a decision was taken to build seven crore houses for the poor, of which four crore were completed in his second term itself.

Another three crore houses will be built in the third term, while approval has been given to construct 12 industrial cities, eight high-speed road corridor projects as well as launch of more than 15 Made-in-India semi-high speed Vande Bharat trains, the PM pointed out.

The Union government has set aside a Rs 1 trillion research fund apart from taking several initiatives for electric mobility and high-performance bio manufacturing, Modi said.

His third term was due to the huge aspirations of the people and the trust 140 crore Indians, including youth, women and the poor, reposed on him, the PM said.

"India is the first G20 country to meet climate commitments made in Paris nine years before the deadline. We are the only one to achieve this among G20 nations. We did what developed nations could not do," he said.

Asserting that India was working at several levels to achieve a 500 GW renewable energy target, Modi said the 'PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijlee Yojana' was "a unique rooftop solar scheme" for which the government provides funds and helps in the installation of solar rooftops in every household.

With this scheme, every household is going to become a power producer, he said, adding that 13 million families have registered for it, while 3.25 lakh households have completed installation.

"Every family connected to the scheme will make a big contribution to fight climate change. When the history of the 21st century will be written, the chapter of India's solar revolution will be written in golden letters," he asserted.

Modi said his government is trying to develop Ayodhya as a "solar city" in which every household, every office, every service will run on solar energy.

As many as 17 such cities have been identified to be developed as solar cities, he added.

Solar power is being used to empower farmers and make them self-independent by helping them set up solar pumps and smaller solar plants, the PM said.

"Every sector connected to renewable energy is working on a bigger scale and speed," he said.

Modi said Mahatma Gandhi's belief that India has enough resources to meet everyone's needs but not greed has emerged from the country's great tradition.

Modi said the country had reasons to stay away from commitments on issues like net zero and green future but chose to show the world "we are a people who care about the future of humanity".

The philosophy of pro-people planets is India's commitment, and, therefore, the country has given the world a vision of Mission LIFE, has taken the initiative of International Solar Alliance, while a global biofuel alliance was launched during the G20 summit, he said.

"India is trying to become a global leader in the green hydrogen sector. For this, we have launched a green hydrogen mission of Rs 20,000 crore. The waste to Energy campaign is underway. To address challenges of critical minerals, we are promoting a circular approach," the PM informed.

Demand for renewable energy is growing in India and the Union government is framing new policies to meet this demand as well as providing all support, he said.