Energetica India Magazine January-February 2021

Gas-based Economy is the Need of the Hour for India, says PM Modi RK Singh Launches SAATHEE Portal for Monitor- ing State Level Actions on Energy Efficiency The Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his Haldia visit, stressed that gas- based economy is the need of the hour for India, and ‘One nation-One Gas Grid’ is an important step for meeting this need. For this, focus is on reducing cost of natural gas and expanding gas-pipeline network, PM Modi said. The Prime Minister further added that, our efforts have led to a situation where India is among the highest gas consum- ing nations. Hydrogen Mission was an- nounced in the budget to promote cheap and clean energy, he mentioned. PM Modi had visited Haldia in West Bengal and dedicated to the nation the LPG import terminal, 348 km Dobhi – Durgapur Natural Gas Pipeline section, which is part of the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga project. Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said that today is a big day for West Bengal and entire Eastern India in terms of AatmNirbharta of connectivity and availability of clean fuel. The four projects will improve both ease of living and ease of doing business in the region. These projects will also help Haldia to grow into a major hub of export-import. He also laid the foundation stone of the second Catalytic-Isodewaxing unit of Haldia Refinery and dedicated to the nation the 4 Lane ROB-cum-Flyover at Ranichak, Haldia on NH 41. The Event was attended by the Governor of West Bengal and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan among others. The Prime Minister pointed out that scar- city of gas was leading to closure of in- dustry in the region. In order to remedy this, a decision was taken to connect eastern India with the eastern and west- ern ports. Pradhan Mantri Urja ganga Pipeline, a big part of which was dedi- cated during his visit, is part of that proj- ect. 350 km Dobhi-Durgapur Pipeline will directly benefit not only West Bengal but also 10 districts of Bihar and Jharkhand. The Construction work provided 11 lakh man days employment to locals. This will also provide clean piped LPG to the kitchens and enable clean CNG vehi- cles. Sindri and Durgapur Fertilizer fac- tories will get continuous gas supply. The Power and New & Renewable En- ergy Minister RK Singh has launched ‘SAATHEE’ (State-wise Actions on Annu- al Targets and Headways on Energy Ef- ficiency) – a portal for State Designated Agency for state level activities. Power Ministry-backed Bureau of En- ergy Efficiency (BEE) has developed a Management Information System (MIS) portal ‘SAATHEE’ to facilitate real-time monitoring of the progress of implemen- tation of various energy conservation en- deavours at state level. The portal was launched during the 30th National Energy Conservation Awards (NECA) function organised by the Minis - try of Power in association with BEE. During the event, the awards were pre- sented to the winners from different in- dustries and sector establishments on Energy Efficiency. Besides, the Standards and Labelling Programme for Air Compressors and Ultra High Definition (UHD) TV was also launched on voluntary basis and the energy consumption standards will be effective from January 01, 2021.This ini- tiative is expected to save around 8.41 Billion Units of electricity for Air Com- pressors and 9.75 Billion Units for UHD TV till 2030. While speaking on the occasion, RK Singh stated that, “Energy Efficiency is not only good for the world but also for companies and industries themselves. Our country has one of the lowest per capita emission and per capita energy consumption. Despite this the country has made ambitious commitments to meet the global challenge posed by cli- mate change. Our country has target to reduce the emission intensity to 33-35% by 2030 compared to 2005 level, as part of commitments made during COP 21.” While emphasising the importance of energy efficiency the Minister highlight - ed the Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme being implemented by BEE, as a ‘flag bearer’, as the scheme has not only demonstrated its promise in the country but also has found interest among many other countries. He specifically mentioned the impact of PAT Cycle II achieved emission reduc- tion of 61 million ton of CO2. 13 energetica INDIA- Jan-Feb_2021 NEWS POLICY