Modi says India achieved non-fossil fuel, ethanol blending targets ahead of schedule

New Delhi, June 5, 2022

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said India had achieved the targets of sourcing 40% of its installed power generation capacity from non-fossil fuel nine years ahead of schedule and of 10 per cent ethanol blending five months before the date set for it.

"Solar energy capacity has increased by 18 times and policies like Hydrogen Mission and circular economy-related policies and scrappage policy are examples of our commitment to environment protection," he said in his address at the "Save Soil" programme organised by Isha Foundation on World Environment Day.

Modi said there were three clear benefits of achieving the ethanol blending goal. "First, it has led to a reduction of 27 lakh tonnes of carbon emission. Second, it has saved foreign exchange worth Rs 41,000 crore and, thirdly, farmers of the country have earned Rs 40,600 crores in the last eight years due to increase in ethanol blending," he said.

The Prime Minister complimented the people, farmers and oil companies of the country on this achievement.

Appreciating the "Save Soil Movement", the Prime Minister said that, at a time when the nation is taking new pledges during the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav (75th Year of Independence), such movements acquire a new importance. He expressed satisfaction that key programmes of the last eight years have an angle of environment protection. He cited Swachh Bharat Mission or the waste to wealth related programme, reduction of single use plastic, one sun one earth or ethanol blending programme as examples of multi-dimensional efforts by India for preservation of the environment.

Modi noted that India's efforts to protect the environment have been multifaceted.

"India is making this effort when India's role in climate change is negligible. Large modern countries of the world are not only exploiting more and more resources of the earth, but maximum carbon emission goes to their account," he said.

The Prime Minister said that the average carbon footprint of the world is about 4 tonnes per person per annum compared to just about 0.5 ton per person per annum in India.

He said that India is working on a long-term vision in collaboration with the international community on protecting the environment and with established organizations like Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, and International Solar Alliance. The Prime MInister reiterated India’s goal of Net-Zero by 2070.

He said that, to save the soil, the government has focused on five main things. "First- How to make the soil chemical free. Second- How to save the organisms that live in the soil, which are called Soil Organic Matter in technical language. Third- How to maintain soil moisture, how to increase the availability of water till it. Fourth- How to remove the damage that is happening to the soil due to less groundwater. And fifth, how to stop the continuous erosion of soil due to the reduction of forests," he said.

Modi said various efforts were being made in the agriculture sector to alleviate the problem of soil issues. He said that, earlier, the farmers of the country lacked information about the type of soil, deficiency in soil, how much water is there. To overcome this problem, a huge campaign was launched to give soil health cards to the farmers in the country.

He said the government is connecting the people of the country with water conservation through campaigns like "catch the rain". In March this year, a campaign to conserve 13 big rivers has also started in the country. In this, along with reducing pollution in water, work is also being done to plant forests on the banks of rivers. Estimates are that this will add a forest cover of 7400 sq km which will add to the increase of 20 thousand sq km forest cover in India that has been added in the last 8 years, he said.

The Prime Minister noted that the policies related to biodiversity and wildlife that India is following today have also led to a record increase in the number of wildlife. Today whether it is tiger, lion, leopard or elephant, the number of all is increasing in the country.

He said that for the first time initiatives were being taken in areas like cleanliness and self-reliance in fuel. He said increasing the income of farmers and soil health related programmes were interconnected, citing the example of Goberdhan Yojna.

The Prime Minister said that, in natural farming, there is a big solution to some of the country's biggest problems. He said, in this year's Budget, the Government has decided to encourage natural farming in the villages situated on the banks of Ganga which will make a huge corridor of natural farming. This will not only make our farms chemical free but the Namami Gange campaign will also gain new strength.

He said India is working on the goal of restoring 26 million hectares of land by 2030. He also mentioned adoption of BS VI norms and the LED bulb campaign.

The Prime MInister said that due to PM National GatiShakti Master Plan logistics system and transport system will be strengthened and that will lead to reduction of pollution. Multi-modal connectivity work on more than 100 waterways will also help in reducing pollution.

He also spoke about green jobs. He said environment conservation was creating opportunities for a large number of green jobs.

He also called for a people’s movement for creating 75 Amrit Sarovars in every district.

NNN