INDIA aims to wind down energy imports in the next 25 years and invest 100 trillion rupees (US$1.35 trillion) in infrastructure to boost economic growth, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said yesterday, laying out national priorities.

“For India to be self-reliant it is imperative that it becomes energy independent,” Modi said in a national address in New Delhi. “India will become energy independent by its 100th independence day.”

The road map to energy self-reliance includes making India a global hub for green hydrogen and aiming for its railways to be a net-zero carbon emitter by 2030, Modi said.

India, the world’s third-largest energy consumer and oil importer, buys 85 percent of its oil needs and pays 12 trillion rupees a year toward energy imports, Modi said, adding that the government is focusing on expanding gas-based fuel and electricity-driven mobility.

With global investors increasingly restricting support to companies contributing to carbon footprints, Modi’s government is incentivizing Indian businesses to completely shift to renewable energy from a fossil-fuel dominated operation. The country plans to expand its renewable power capacity almost five-fold by 2030 to meet its de-carbonization targets.

Announcing the government’s medium-term vision to boost the economy, Modi unveiled a national infrastructure plan that will integrate India’s varied modes of transport.

“This will cut travel time and increase industry productivity. It will help make Indian industry globally competitive and will develop possibility to develop future economic zones.”

India plans to attract manufacturing investments to grow its economy post-pandemic as it competes for global supply chains.

Modi last week called for a target of US$400 billion in exports this financial year after last year’s numbers fell 7.2 percent to US$290.6 billion.

(SD-Agencies)