Remaining 4141 villages to be electrified by 2018: Goyal

Inaugurating a state power ministers' conference here on Wednesday, Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal said, "Power is the fulcrum around which an ecosystem can be created to give better quality of life to every citizen of India".

Delivering the inaugural address at the two-day event, Goyal said the objective of the conference is to review the work done in the sectors of power, coal, renewable energy and mining by state governments/union territories in last six months.

Further, the conference intends to forge new policies for achieving the goal of providing 24x7 quality and affordable power for all in the stipulated time, upholding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'New India', Goyal added.

He stressed that this conference is an 'outcome focussed gathering' while reiterating the resolution taken in last state power ministers' conference in Vadodara to provide electricity to every household in the country by December 2018.

He also noted that the challenges in achieving 24x7 power for all are not over yet and in the next three to four months, a final push is needed to electrify remaining 4141 un-electrified villages in the country.

Talking about the transparency and accountability that a number of mobile apps and web portals have brought in the energy sector in India, Goyal said that transparency has been a hallmark of this government. The minister encouraged the esteemed gathering to put forward a collective, collaborative and cooperative approach of State and Central Government which will help in creating a corruption free power sector in the country.

The conference was attended by ministers and senior government officers from 23 State/UT governments.

Also present on the occasion were P.K. Pujari, Secretary, Power, Arun Kumar, Secretary, Mines, Rajeev Kapoor, Secretary, New and Renewable Energy along with senior officials of the Ministries and the CPSUs under them.