New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday formally announced the launch of a National Hydrogen Mission to accelerate plans to generate the carbon-free fuel from renewables as he set a target of 2047 for India to achieve self-reliance in energy.
Delivering his Independence Day address from the ramparts of the Red Fort, he said India can achieve self-reliance in energy through a mix of a gas-based economy, doping sugarcane extracted ethanol in petrol and electric mobility.
India, he said, spends over ₹ 12 lakh crore on energy imports every year.
The 70-year-old mentioned that the country has met its target of 100 GW of renewable energy ahead of the set deadline and that the enhanced usage of natural gas in the economy should be our aim going forward. For this, measures such as establishment of a network for the delivery of piped natural gas and CNG along with the 20 per cent blending of ethanol in petrol and diesel are essential.
As of now, hydrogen used in India is derived from fossil fuels but about three-fourth of it will be produced through renewable electricity and electrolysis by 2050. PM Modi declared that green hydrogen will enable India take a quantum jump in achieving its targets.
