Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates India Energy Week 2023 in Bengaluru

Rajendra S Markuna

New Delhi: The Prime Minister,Narendra Modi, inaugurated the India Energy Week (IEW) 2023 in Bengaluru on February 6, 2023. He launched the uniforms under the ‘Unbottled’ initiative of Indian Oil.

These uniforms are made of recycled PET bottles. He also dedicated the twin-cooktop model of the Indian Oil’s Indoor Solar Cooking System and flagged off its commercial roll-out.

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.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister informed that India Energy Week is the first significant energy event of the G20 calendar and welcomed everyone on the occasion. He 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 is moving with a resolution of a Viksit Bharat”, he said.

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.

The Prime Minister cited multiple factors for that, first, stable, decisive government. Second,  sustained reforms, third, socio-economic empowerment at the grassroots level.

The Prime Minister elaborated on the massive social infrastructure including, financial inclusion through bank accounts, free health facilities, safe sanitation, electricity, housing, and piped water that has reached crores of people and changed the lives of a number of people who are more than the population of many major countries.

He noted the positive changes that have occurred in the quality of lives of crores of India where they have come out of poverty and reached the levels of the middle class. He informed that 6,00,000 kilometres of optical fibers have been laid in the country so that every village gets internet access.

Throwing light on the developments in the last nine  years, the Prime Minister informed that the number of broadband users in the country has gone up thirteen times and internet connections have gone up three times. He further added that the number of internet users in rural regions is growing at a faster pace when compared to urban areas.

The Prime Minister informed that India has become the 2nd largest manufacturer of mobile phones in the world which has led to the formation of the world’s largest aspirational class. “The people of India want better products, better services and better infrastructure”, the Prime Minister continued as he pointed out the significant role of energy in realising the aspirations of the Indian citizens.