PRESIDENT OF INDIA PRESENTS NATIONAL ENERGY CONSERVATION AWARDS; SAYS ENERGY AVAILABILITY AND EFFICIENCY IS THE BACKBONE OF INDIA’S ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

Rashtrapati Bhavan : 14.12.2017

The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, presented the National Energy Conservation Awards and Painting Competition Prizes in New Delhi today (December 14, 2017) on the occasion of National Energy Conservation Day. He also launched a web portal on energy conservation in buildings on the occasion.

Addressing the gathering, the President said that energy availability and efficiency is the backbone of India’s economic growth and development. It poses not one but several challenges such as access to energy,sustainability of energy sources and efficiency of energy use. All of these are important as the government works towards its commitment to provide "24X7 Power for All”.

The President said that while we have succeeded in becoming a power surplus nation in the past three years, we cannot rest. Our needs will certainly grow. After all, electricity is to the industrial age what water is to agriculture. Energy conservation and energy efficiency are critical to our endeavours. They will play a major role in reducing the emission intensity of our GDP and in enhancing energy access as well as bringing down the cost of energy for consumers. This will be of benefit to ordinary households and small-and-medium enterprises, which have significant energy costs. The energy that is saved will be used by farmers for irrigation and to preserve fruits and vegetables in cold storages.

The President said that energy efficiency is relevant to many of our flagship programmes – from Make in India to building Smart Cities. Almost a third of India’s power consumption occurs in commercial and residential buildings. In the coming years, as our economy grows and our cities expand, many more buildings will be constructed. Energy efficiency in the building sector, therefore, is a necessity.

This release issued at 1340 hrs.