India’s energy demand is going to surge once it steps out of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Daniel Yergin, Vice-Chairman, IHS Markit. Speaking with Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan during the India Energy Forum by CERAWeek, Yergin said that China’s energy demand is back to being on the rise, but India’s demand is still at 2019 levels. He said that India’s energy demand is going to surge significantly once the pandemic is over.
“Under the multi-pathway net zero strategy, India is going to be the demand centre of the world,” said Pradhan.
The Indian Railways is on track to achieve net zero emissions by 2030, according to Rail Minister Piyush Goyal. Speaking at another session during the India Energy Forum, Goyal said: “Compared to September 2019, in September 2020, the Indian Railways moved 15 per cent more freight; our exports have gone up by 5 per cent and power consumption is up by 5.5 per cent.”
“We have about 65,000 route kilometres in India; we are already 40,000 route kilometres under electrification, and the balance is going on at a fast pace. By December 2023, we will be completely electrified,” said Goyal.
“We are very confident that we will be the world’s first large railway that will be 100 per cent electrified,” he said.
“We are already embarked on 1 GW of solar along railway lines, this will be expanded to 3 GW. The land bank of the railways will also be used to set up 20 GW of solar projects to meet requirements,” he added.
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