SME Times News Bureau | 17 Dec, 2013
President Pranab Mukherjee Monday called for improved energy
efficiency to tackle the demand for power which has increased significantly
because of industrialisation and urbanisation, even as there are limitations on
supply.
Speaking during the presentation of the National Energy Conservation Awards and
the Painting Competition Awards at a function at Vigyan Bhavan on National
Energy Conservation Day, the president said India is the fourth-largest
consumer of energy in the world, after the US, China and Russia.
He said accelerated industrialisation, growing urbanisation and an emerging
consumer society has led to significant increase in energy demand.
Meeting the energy needs of the population in a scenario of heightened supply
limitations poses a formidable challenge for sustainable economic growth, he
said.
He said that as an effective strategy to counter this growing difficulty, the
growth in energy demand vis-à-vis growth of GDP has to be contained, through
improved energy efficiency, a Rashtrapati Bhavan statement said.
The president said resource-use efficiency and conservation are critical for
the agenda of inclusive growth and development.
Energy conservation also implies substitution of costly imported energy by
cheap energy. This will help in reducing our foreign exchange outgo, he said.
Conservation of energy is a critical development imperative that has multiple
positive spin-offs, he stressed.
Among the dignitaries present on the occasion were Power Minister Jyotiraditya
Scindia, Power Secretary P.K. Sinha, and Director General Ajay Mathur of the
Bureau of Energy Efficiency.