New govt will come out with a National Energy Policy: Pranab

Says govt will also work towards expanding the National Solar Mission

The new government will soon come out with a National Energy Policy that will focus on balancing power generation through conventional and non-conventional sources, President Pranab Mukherjee said today.

Addressing the first Joint Sitting of the Parliament, Mukherjee said: "My government will come out with a comprehensive National Energy Policy and focus on development of energy related infrastructure, human resource and technology."

The aim of the government will be to "substantially augment" electricity generation capacity through a judicious mix of conventional and non-conventional sources, he added.

The government will also work towards expanding the National Solar Mission.

The mission which was launched on the 11th January, 2010 has a target of deploying 20,000 MW of grid connected solar power by 2022 and reduce the cost of solar power generation in the country through long term policy, large scale deployment goals, aggressive R&D and domestic production of critical raw materials, components and products.

Mukherjee further said: "The international civil nuclear agreements will be operationalised and nuclear power projects for civilian purposes will be developed.

"By the time the nation completes 75 years of Independence (2022), every family will have a pucca house with water connection, toilet facilities, 24x7 electricity supply."

The new government also intends to address the important issue of pollution through the use of cleaner fuels.

"Cleaner fuels will be promoted to bring down pollution levels in our cities. The government will take up mitigation works to meet the challenges posed by climate change and will work with the global community in this regard," Mukherjee said.

The government will formulate clear and transparent policies on allocation of critical natural resources such as coal, minerals and spectrum, he added.