Hon'ble Prime Minister inaugurates Urja Sangam 2015 - India’s Global Hydrocarbon Summit
New Delhi 27-Mar-2015
Hon'ble MoS for P&NG (i/c), Mr. Dharmender Pradhan,
according a floral welcome to the Hon'ble
PM of India, Mr. Narendra Modi
Hon’ble Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi inaugurated ‘Urja Sangam 2015’ today at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, which is being hailed as India’s biggest global hydrocarbon meet, aimed at shaping India’s energy security in the presence of Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State (I/c) for Commerce & Industry, Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State(I/c) for Petroleum & Natural Gas, Mr. Nasrul Hamid, State Minister for Power, Energy & Mineral Resources, Bangladesh, Mr. Ajit Seth, Cabinet Secretary, Government of India, Mr. Saurabh Chandra, Secretary, MoP&NG, Mr. B. Ashok, Chairman, IndianOil, Mr. D.K. Sarraf, CMD, ONGC, Mr. Narendra Verma, MD, OVL and Mr. A. K. Purwaha, CMD, EIL.
Marking the golden jubilee celebration of India’s foremost international petroleum company ONGC Videsh, engineering giant Engineers India Limited and refining major IndianOil's Barauni Refinery, the Hon’ble Prime Minister released a commemorative Postage Stamp Album, a coffee table book on Engineers India Ltd (EIL) and a History Book on ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL).
Addressing the gathering, Hon’ble PM said that this is not only ‘Urja Sangam’ but also a ‘Triveni Sangam’ as the three organizations are celebrating their Golden Jubilee, which made an important contribution in energy security and consolidation of energy sector in India.
Mr. Modi formally launched ‘Give It Up’ movement for voluntary surrender of LPG subsidy, which will be helpful in providing LPG Cooking Gas to under privileged section of the society. He mentioned that over 2.8 lakh people have already given up their LPG subsidy voluntarily, which is expected to result in savings of over Rs. 100 crores to the national exchequer and will be utilized for the benefit of marginalized sections of the society and benefit of the country.
Highlighting the import dependence of the nation, Mr. Modi emphasized on working together to achieve energy security of the country. He urged all stakeholders to increase the domestic production of Oil and Gas to reduce import dependence from 77 % to 67% by the year 2022, when India celebrates its 75 years of independence, which he called as Amrit Parv.
He added that by achieving the target, the citizens would pay a true homage to our freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the country. He further said that import dependence should be brought down to 50 % by the year 2030. He emphasised that the western part of the Country is having more economic activities whereas the eastern parts of the country have to be focused for development as they are rich in natural resources. For true National growth a balance growth of every state and each part of the Country is required.
Focusing on achieving equitable and balanced national growth, he said that the Government is committed to expanding its National gas grid network from its current length of 15,000 kms pipeline to 30,000 kms cross country gas pipeline. The said move would help connect Eastern states with the rest of the country which will boost industrial development.
The PM lauded execution of world’s largest cash transfer LPG subsidy scheme PAHAL in a time bound manner. Talking of its remarkable success, he stated that cash benefits were made available to 12 crore customers within a span of just 100 days, arresting leakage and bringing transparency.
Urja Sangam aims to showcase India’s potential in the hydrocarbon sector to the world and creates an investor-friendly atmosphere, besides positioning India’s thought leadership by creating a new “Energy Security” platform. On the global level, the summit aims to firm up cooperation agreements with key global players.
