Although a majority of rural households do not have LPG or other clean cooking options, Uttar Pradesh scored better than other states while Jharkhand reported the lowest level of access to clean cooking energy, the survey found out.
Global investors are willing to commit up to USD 10 billion in the country’s renewable energy sector, Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal said.
“In one of my meetings in New York, a very large investor, which handles probably the world’s largest fund basket, has committed to me on the table that if you were to invite us to come in for renewable energy…then I’m willing to commit 10 billion dollars in a month,” he told reporters here.
Goyal, who also holds the new and renewable energy portfolio, was speaking to reporters after the release of the report titled ‘Access to Clean Cooking Energy and Electricity – Survey of States’ (ACCESS). Replying to a query, he said the western world should give up its consumerist philosophy and actually start contributing to combating climate change.
At the function, he said: “The ACCESS study provides a holistic approach to analysing the deep distress in rural India due to poor cooking energy access and could be the handbook for all future discussions on this topic.”
“My government is committed to providing affordable and quality energy access to the entire country. I applaud the efforts of urban citizens who have already given up their LPG subsidies as part of the ‘Give it Up’ campaign. I would urge other citizens from urban India to do the same,” he said.
This will also have significant health benefits and improve the quality of life for an increased number of households, the Minister added.
Goyal released an independent study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), in collaboration with the Columbia University. According to the largest energy access survey in India, only a fifth of rural households have access to an LPG connection and 95 per cent of rural households use some form of traditional fuel for cooking.
Although a majority of rural households do not have LPG or other clean cooking options, Uttar Pradesh scored better than other states while Jharkhand reported the lowest level of access to clean cooking energy, the survey found out.
ACCESS is India’s largest energy access survey, covering more than 8,500 households, 714 villages and 51 districts, across Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
