Achieving energy self-reliance is key amid global crises: PM Modi

PM Modi said India has remained resilient through global crises, highlighting self-reliance, energy security and infrastructure-led growth

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the current decade was turning out to be a decade of adversities, beginning with the Covid-19 pandemic and followed by several wars, which have triggered an energy crisis, leading to volatile oil prices and disruptions in gas supply chains. But India has weathered these challenges with strength and resilience through the collective efforts of its 1.4 billion people, he said.

 

Addressing a gathering in Gujarat’s Surat after inaugurating and laying foundation stones for development projects worth ₹18,000 crore, the PM said the current global crises had underlined the importance of atmanirbharta, or self-reliance, in the energy sector, and the crucial role played by the country’s efforts over the last 12 years to diversify its sources of oil supplies and build renewable energy capacity.

 

 

The PM detailed the government’s “historic investments” over the last dozen years in renewable energy, ethanol blending, railway electrification, civil nuclear energy, improving power transmission networks and expanding the piped gas network.

 

The PM said voters had repeatedly given a mandate to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) because they trust his government’s development initiatives and growth-driven agenda for the country. He said that amid his government's focus on self-reliance, there are “some pessimists” in the country who constantly mock the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative.

 

To accelerate the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative, the country is focusing heavily on connectivity. Projects such as the Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway, the Dedicated Freight Corridor and the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train corridor reflect this priority, he said. The PM added that the world is shifting towards a green future and India is working extensively on ‘green growth’, with Gujarat having taken decisive steps in this regard years ago.

 

Earlier in the day, the PM visited Larsen & Toubro's Hazira facility in Surat, where he reviewed ongoing industrial operations and infrastructure projects. He visited the AM Naik Heavy Engineering Complex, L&T's state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, and was shown around by company officials. He was briefed on the 'Zorawar' tanks and other defence equipment manufactured at the facility. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and L&T Defence have jointly developed the air-transportable 25-tonne tank designed for rapid deployment, largely along the frontier with China.

 

Taking a jibe at the Congress, the PM said “immense public anger” forced the party to change its CM in Karnataka and accused it of spreading chaos in the past 12 years and seeking political and electoral opportunities in them.

 

Later in the evening, the PM launched ₹2,970 crore projects in Daman and inaugurated new Airport Terminal in Union territory. Addressing a gathering, he said the country clocked 7.7 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth in FY26. “India is fastest growing major economy in the world,” he said.