New Delhi, Jul 12 (UNI) Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has appealed to the Indian students from various top global universities to come and innovate in India, to explore the emerging opportunities.
Interacting with a vibrant group of young overseas Indian scholars, students and friends on Saturday on last-mile energy access in India, Mr Pradhan said, 'Prime Minister Narendra Modi has envisioned a clear roadmap for India’s energy future which rests on five key enablers of energy availability and accessibility for all, energy affordability to the poorest of the poor, efficiency in energy use, energy sustainability for combating climate change as a responsible global citizen and energy security for mitigating global uncertainties.'
Speaking about Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Mr Pradhan said, 'We introduced the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana(PMUY) scheme, in 2016. Its objective is to provide LPG cooking gas connections, free of cost to 80 million poor households. I am happy to inform you that we could achieve the target of 80 million customers well ahead of schedule. With this, LPG connections are now available to 98 per cetn of the households in India, up from just about 56 per cent in the year 2014.'
About self-reliance in oil and gas sector, Mr Pradhan said, 'PM Modi has set a target for reduction of 10 percent in energy import dependency by 2022. In this regard, the government has taken several policy as well as administrative measures to augment domestic oil and gas production and reduce dependency on imports for meeting the energy requirements of the country.'
He also talked about India’s energy diplomacy and said India has made its presence felt in the global energy map.
'India under leadership of PM Modi is leading the voice of consuming countries demanding for reasonable and affordable price of energy. We are engaging with OPEC, IEA, IEF and all other major voices in the world energy discussions. India has engaged with the US, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and all major energy producers, under a policy of diversification of supply sources,' he said.
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