Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the India Energy Week (IEW) 2023 in Bengaluru and launched the uniforms under the ‘Unbottled’ initiative of Indian Oil made of recycled PET bottles. 

 

Later in the day, the Prime Minister also launched E20 fuel at 84 retail outlets of Oil Marketing Companies in 11 states/UTs along the lines of the ethanol blending roadmap. He also flagged off the Green Mobility Rally where vehicles running on green energy sources will participate and help create public awareness for green fuels. 

 

Highlighting that Bengaluru is a city brimming with technology, talent and innovation, the Prime Minister remarked that everyone present here will be experiencing that energy today. He informed that India Energy Week is the first significant energy event of the G20 calendar and welcomed everyone on the occasion.

 

The Prime Minister underlined the major role of the energy sector in setting the direction of the future of the 21st-century world. 

 

“India is one of the strongest voices in the world for energy transition and for developing new resources of energy. Unprecedented possibilities are emerging in India that are moving with a resolution of a Viksit Bharat,” said Narendra Modi. 

 

Referring to the recently released IMF projections of India being the fastest-growing major economy, Modi further added that India has continued to be the global bright spot in the world stricken with the pandemic and the era of war in 2022. He credited the internal resilience of India that enabled the nation to overcome any obstacle irrespective of external factors.  

 

Quoting International Energy Association, the Prime Minister remarked that India’s energy demands will be highest in the present decade which presents an opportunity for the investors and stakeholders of the energy sector. He informed that India’s share in the global oil demand is 5% which is expected to rise to 11%, whereas the gas demand of India is expected to rise up to 500%. 

 

He underlined that new opportunities for investment and collaboration are being created by the expanding energy sector of India. 

 

The Prime Minister explained four major verticals for the strategy for the energy sector. First, increasing domestic exploration and production, diversifying the supply, and third, expanding fuels like biofuel, ethanol, compressed biogas and solar. Fourth, de-carbonisation via electric vehicles and hydrogen. Elaborating on these verticals the Prime Minister said India is the fourth largest country for its refining capacity. 

 

"Efforts are on to increase the capacity to 450 MMTPA from the current capacity of 250 MMTPA. We are continuously making our refining capacity indigenous, modern and upgraded. Similarly, India is working to enhance Petrochemical production capacity. He asked the leadership of the industry to utilise technology and the startup ecosystem of India to expand their energy landscape," added Modi. 

 

The Prime Minister informed that the government is working on mission mode to increase the consumption of natural gas in our energy mix from 6% to 15% by 2030 where all the needed infrastructure will be provided by ‘One Nation One Grid’. “

 

The government is trying to increase the capacity of LNG Terminal regasification”, the Prime Minister said. 

 

He further added that the terminal regasification capacity of 21 MMTPA has doubled in 2022 while efforts are being made to increase it even more. 

 

He also added that the number of CGDs in the country has gone up 9 times and the number of CNG stations has gone up to 5000 from 900 in 2014. 

 

The Prime Minister also touched upon the gas pipeline network which has increased to 22,000 kilometres from 14,000 in 2014 and pointed out that the network will expand to 35,000 kilometres in the next 4-5 years.  

 

Mentioning the provisions of this year’s budget the Prime Minister informed about 500 new ‘waste to wealth’ Gobardhan plants, 200 compressed biogas plants and 300 community-based plants which will create new avenues of investments. 

 

“The National Green hydrogen mission will give a new direction to the India of the 21st century”, the Prime Minister remarked.

 

He underlined that the country is aiming to produce 5 MMTPA green hydrogen by the end of this decade which brings in the possibility of investments of more than Rs 8 lakh crore. 

 

He also added that India will increase the share of green hydrogen to 25 percent by replacing grey hydrogen. 

 

The Prime Minister also touched upon the crucial subject of battery cost in EVs and noted that its cost is 40-50 percent of the cost of the car. He informed that the government has started a PLI scheme worth Rs. 18,000 crores which will be a significant step towards manufacturing advanced chemistry cells of 50 GigaWatt hours.

 

Governor of Karnataka, Thawar Chand Gehlot; Chief Minister of Karnataka, Basvaraj Bommai; Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri; and Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Rameshwar Teli were present on the occasion among others.