Govt committed to increase India's renewable energy production to 500 GW by 2023: Joshi

The government is committed to increasing the production of renewable energy in the country to 500 GW by 2030 and meeting 50% of the energy requirement from renewable sources, Union minister Pralhad Joshi said on Tuesday.

The central as well as state governments are working rapidly towards fulfilling this commitment, the renewable energy minister said at the regional review meeting on renewable energy here.

He said that the country's energy requirement is likely to double by 2032.

He said that ten years ago India was the 11th economy of the world. Progressing at the fastest pace, the country has become one of the five largest economies today and is moving towards becoming the third largest economy.

Work is being done rapidly towards energy self-reliance so that all sectors of the economy can move forward, he said.

The minister further said that as per the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 2026), in order to reduce carbon emissions and promote environmentally friendly energy in the coming years, preparations are being made to impose a green tax on the industrial use of fossil fuels in many countries of the world.

In such a situation, it is the duty of all of us to encourage renewable energy with the aim of keeping Indian products competitive in the international market and ensuring a better future for the coming generations while dealing with global warming.

At the review meeting, state chief minister Bhajanlal Sharma said that to achieve the goals of energy security and sustainable development, there is a need to use energy efficiently, adopt renewable sources and develop new energy policies.

The chief minister said that the state government has issued Rajasthan Clean Energy Policy 2024, in which a target has been set to establish 125 GW of renewable energy projects by the year 2030. Investment proposals worth ₹35 lakh crore have been received in the Rising Rajasthan Global Investment Summit, in which more than ₹28 lakh crore is related to the energy sector alone.

The projects to be established will create large-scale employment opportunities in the field of solar energy and wind energy production in the state.

He said that Rajasthan is the leading state of the country in Kusum Yojana.

The state government is also working on meeting the agricultural electricity load with solar energy, the chief minister said, adding that under the Pradhan Mantri Suryaghar free electricity scheme, the process of installing rooftop plants in 5 lakh houses in the state is underway and so far plants have been installed in about 25,000 houses.

By starting the work of equipping all government buildings with solar energy, so far 489 MW LOAs have been issued on a hybrid annuity model.

He said that the approval of a new solar park of 2000 MW for the state will give impetus to solar projects.

Union Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy Shripad Yasso Naik said that PM Suryaghar Yojana will make the electricity bill of one crore families in the country almost zero, which will be an important achievement towards making them energy self-reliant.

Similarly PM Kusum Yojana has proved to be an effective initiative towards increasing the energy security of farmers by reducing their dependence on discom (power distribution companies).

Minister of State for Energy (Independent Charge) Hiralal Nagar, Haryana Energy Minister Anil Vij, Himachal Pradesh Town and Country Planning, Housing Management Minister Rajesh Dharmani, Jammu and Kashmir Science and Technology Department Minister Satish Kumar Sharma also expressed their views.