Union petroleum and natural gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said energy demand in India is likely to grow by 4.2 percent per annum by 2035. He noted that this makes the country’s energy demand growing faster than that of all major economies in the world. He also said the share of world's third-largest energy consumer in total global primary energy demand is set to double to 11 percent by 2040.
Pradhan said the per capita energy consumption of the country with 1.3 billion people is lower than the global average. He said the projected energy demand expansion calls for making matching investments in the energy sector. He also said at $85 billion, India recorded the highest growth of foreign energy investments anywhere in the world. He also said the government earlier this year declared that ‘energy justice’ is a top priority for India and also a key objective for himself. He said this encompasses a renewed commitment of India to advance inclusive access to secure, affordable and sustainable energy services.
The minister has stated that India was significantly expanding its energy infrastructure -- be it power generation, more renewables and gas-based infrastructure -- pipelines, city gas network and LNG terminals. He said 'we launched a major campaign to improve access to clean cooking fuel under the Ujjwala Yojana scheme three years back, and the target of 8 crore connections was achieved just a couple of days back'. He said the scheme has ensured that LPG coverage reaches more than 90 percent from 55 percent five years ago. He added that India achieved the universal electrification of all villages and this year, the country aims to achieve 100 percent electrification of households.