India moved from power deficit to surplus in 12 years, says Pralhad Joshi

Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, New and Renewable Energy, Pralhad Joshi, on Tuesday said India had transformed from a power-deficit nation plagued by blackouts and outages into a power-surplus country over the last 12 years.

Addressing a media conference in Tirupati on the achievements of the NDA government at the Centre, Mr. Joshi described the period as ‘12 years of Vishwas ke, Vikas ke and Jan Kalyan ke’.

He said India had achieved an installed renewable energy capacity of 290 GW, surpassing the United States and securing the third and fourth positions globally in the solar and wind energy sectors respectively.

Describing the transformation as a journey “from darkness to light”, he said the country’s total power generation capacity had reached 538 GW, with renewable sources accounting for 33% of the total.

Referring to the country’s economic growth, Mr. Joshi credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi with steering India from what was ridiculed as one of the world’s top five fragile economies to a ₹345 lakh crore economy.

He said the NDA government had focused not only on development and governance but also on ensuring that welfare measures reached the last person in society.

Quoting data from international agencies such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, he said the multidimensional poverty rate had declined from 29.17% in 2013-14 to 11.28%, benefiting nearly 25 crore people.

Praising Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Mr. Joshi said Andhra Pradesh was progressing steadily on the development path with strong support from the Centre for projects such as Amaravati, the Polavaram project, Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) and the South Coast Railway Zone.

VSP accident

Earlier, the Union Minister expressed grief over the deaths of employees in the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant accident and assured support to the bereaved families and injured workers.

Along with State Ministers Anagani Satya Prasad (Revenue) and Gottipati Ravi Kumar (Power), and State BJP president P. V. N. Madhav, Mr. Joshi released booklets highlighting the NDA government’s 12-year record in development, welfare and governance.

BJP district president Samanchi Srinivas, TTD Trust Board member G. Bhanuprakash Reddy, A.P. Handicrafts Development Corporation Chairman P. Hariprasad, A.P. Yadava Welfare Corporation Chairman G. Narasimha Yadav and TDP district president Panabaka Lakshmi were present.