Central government strengthened power sector in last 8 years: PM Narendra Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (July 30, 2022) dedicated and laid the foundation stone of various green energy projects of National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) worth over Rs 5,200 crore, and launched power sector's revamped distribution sector scheme as well as the national solar rooftop portal. PM Modi laid the foundation stone of various Green Energy projects of NTPC via video-conferencing today. 

While addressing the `Ujjwal Bharat Ujjwal Bhavishya - Power @2047` programme, PM Modi highlighted how the BJP government has strengthened the power sector by removing many previous shortcomings in the energy sector and has bridged the gap between power consumption and power generation. 

Eight years ago, we took the initiative to transform every part of the country's power sector. Work was done on Generation, Transmission, Distribution & Connection to enhance the country's power sector: PM Modi pic.twitter.com/DeUxKSTPnU

— ANI (@ANI) July 30, 2022

"In today`s times, no one can imagine life without electricity. It is a matter of great satisfaction for me that in the last few years, we have strengthened the power sector by removing many previous shortcomings in the energy sector," PM Modi said. 

Recalling the days of power shortages, the Prime Minister said that during the last eight years, about 1,70,000 MW of electricity generation capacity has been added. Power is necessary for the development of the nation, he said, adding the country needs "Rashtraneeti' and not 'Rajneeti".

"You will remember that even after 70 years of independence, electricity could not reach 18,000 villages of the country. In today`s new India, work is being done in this direction so that people can generate electricity in villages," the Prime Minister said. 

India, he added, is among the top 4-5 countries of the world in terms of installed solar capacity and also has one of the world's largest solar plants.

Notably, Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 1, 2016, to distribute 50 million LPG connections to women of Below Poverty Line families. In May 2016, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MOPNG), introduced the `Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana` (PMUY) as a flagship scheme with an objective to make clean cooking fuel such as LPG available to rural and deprived households which were otherwise using traditional cooking fuels such as firewood, coal, cow-dung cakes etc.

(With agency inputs)