Modi pledges to make India energy independent by 2047, cites fuel bill

Prime Minister's comments in Independence Day speech came a few months before India is projected to miss a goal to cut crude oil import dependence by 2022

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced a new target of making India an ‘Energy Independent’ nation by the time the country reaches 100 years of India’s independence, in 2047.

Addressing the nation from the Red Fort during the annual Independence Day address, Modi lamented that India is not energy independent today. “India today spends more than Rs 12 trillion annually on energy import. For India's progress, the country's energy independence is the need of the hour--necessary to make a self-reliant India. Therefore, today India has to take a resolution that will become energy independent before the completion of 100 years of independence and for this our roadmap is very clear,” he said.

PM Modi’s comments come a few months before the country is expected to miss an earlier goal that he had set of a 10 per cent cut in crude oil import dependence by 2022. This was announced in 2015. But this target is far from being achieved and the county’s import reliance has only risen. Instead of cutting imports by 10 per cent, its proportion has continued to rise from 2015. Annual domestic crude oil output has fallen to below 30 million tonnes (mt) and total import has risen to 226 mt. When Modi had given his earlier import reduction call, domestic crude oil production in 2015-16 stood at 35.5 mt and has fallen to 29.1 mt in 2020-21.

While stressing on this new target, Modi said that there is a roadmap for it charted out. “Be it a gas-based economy, a network of Compressed Natural Gas, Piped Natural Gas across the country, a target of 20 percent ethanol blending, India is moving ahead with a set goal.”

Highlighting the role of the Indian Railways in these import reduction plans, Modi said, “The work on 100 per cent electrification of Railways is also progressing at a fast pace. Indian Railways has set a target of becoming Net Zero Carbon Emitter by 2030.”

Around 45,881 Route kilometers (RKM) or 71 per cent of the total Broad-Gauge (BG) network of Indian Railways (64,689 RKM, including Konkan Railway) has been electrified by March 31, 2021. The Central Organisation for Railway Electrification plans to electrify all BG routes of Indian Railway by December 2023. The Indian Railways plans to achieve its Net Zero Carbon emitter target through a mix of electrification, improving energy efficiency of locomotives and trains and fixed installations, green certification for installations and stations, fitting bio toilets in coaches and switching to renewable sources of energy.

PM Modi also batted for increasing the use of Green Hydrogen as a cleaner alternative fuel. He aimed for India to become a global hub for the same. “There is the biggest goal in that which is going to give quantum jump to India in the field of climate, that is the area of Green Hydrogen. To achieve the goal of Green Hydrogen, I am announcing the National Hydrogen Mission today. We have to make India a global hub for production and export of Green Hydrogen.”

Modi had announced the launch of a National Hydrogen Energy Mission in November 2020 too. This was also reiterated in the Union Budget 2021-2022 by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Earlier this month, the Indian Railways said it has begun work on Hydrogen powered trains. seeks NTPC also sought proposals to set up a Pilot Project on Hydrogen Blending with Natural Gas across India's City Gas Distribution (CGD) Network. Indian Oil Corporation, that has been working since early 2000s to explore the use of Hydrogen, is gearing to make clean-Hydrogen run vehicles in 2022.

In the private sector, US-headquartered Chart Industries and India's Reliance Industries announced in April this year that they will be jointly heading a new industry body called India H2 Alliance (IH2A) focused on commercializing hydrogen technologies and systems to build net-zero carbon pathways in India. In June, JSW Steel, CSIR-National Chemical Lab (CSIR-NCL) and the Scottish Development International (SDI) also joined the IH2A. All of these said they will be working with the Indian government to build the hydrogen economy and supply chain in the country.

In a statement, renewable energy-focused ACME Group also said that it has recently commissioned the world’s first integrated commercial-scale pilot plant for Green hydrogen production in Rajasthan.

BIG GOALS

1) Energy Independent India by 2047

2) Net zero Railway emission by 2030

3) Global Green Hydrogen Hub in India