My greetings to all of you,

It's always a pleasure to come to Gujarat. In every period of history that is significant, Gujarat has shown the path to the world and the nation in particular. There was a time when Mahatma Gandhi dominated the discourse of peace and non-violence from this land.

Then Bharat got independence, there was a great challenge, the challenge again was met by a great son of the soil from Gujarat, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the Iron Man and now, in present times, the man who gave Bharat Statue of Unity, Narendra Modi, is dominating global discourse.

I am therefore always delighted to enjoy the hospitality of Bhupendra Bhai Patel, the Honourable Chief Minister, grateful to you, sir. Honourable Governor, Gujarat, Shri Acharya Devvratji, he took you into the Indian civilisational ethos to reflect on the topic that is at hand.

This galaxy of renewable energy champions, from across the globe with significant participation from some countries and states of the nation, is a soothing sight and I am sure the tone was set rightly by the man whose presence on the planet is valued by the globe at the moment—Shri Narendra Modi ji—in the inaugural address. The three days of deliberations, I have had the occasion to come to grips with that, and various aspects have been deliberated and discussed. There has been connectivity. 

From many benchmarks, well-wishers of the planet have congregated in this land of Gujarat, which shows a big change in the early part of this century. The event that attracts about 250 distinguished speakers and an equal number of diplomats is bound to be a feast of intellect and anyone present here is bound to gather knowledge and wisdom to tackle the problems we all are facing. The footfalls here, we have had footfalls in thousands here and 30 thousands a day, I am surprised. And why not? During my brief visit to the exhibition I saw, exhibition that reflected not only India's scenario but also the global scenario. The soothing sight, people are inquisitive because the entire effort has converged on one aspect, and that aspect is how to make this world livable and habitable for the people of the world. 

Number of companies that have participated from India and abroad? I am told it is in three digits, about 200, there have been back-to-back facilitation 500 and over 90 B2G meetings, demonstrating strong interest in renewable energy. 

Friends, let me tell you, interest in renewable energy is not optional. It is compulsive, we will have to take an interest in this because it concerns our existence and therefore, Renewable Energy Invest 2024 has the potential to be a powerful catalyst for action, an action that is coming not a day too soon, an action that is the need of the hour. 

Distinguished audience, climate change, we talked about a decade ago, we were non-serious about it, we took it just as a news item—glaciers melting, temperatures rising. Suddenly, the entire world has awakened to a great reality and that reality is that climate change is an existential challenge. This is a challenge to all living beings on the planet, and we are fully alive to the fact that we don't have another planet to live on.

This is the only planet, and therefore, we have no option but to work 24x7 to bring about a scenario so that we first contain the climate change menace, then engage in restoration, and then make this planet habitable. If we succeed largely, which we should, we will restore its pristine glory. 

Let me indicate first, distinguished audience, what the global scenario is? The global scenario at the moment is one fully marked and dotted by disturbance, we have global conflagrations, and we have menacing climate change. In this, Bharat has taken the lead. Bharat is home to one-sixth of humanity, and Bharat has a civilisational depth of 5000 years. Our knowledge about climate change emanates from our Vedas and Upanishads, and therefore, a change was initiated from this land. 

Let me not go too far back, but only refer to G20, G20 will be known for four things in particular. 

One, the motto of G20: One Earth, One Family, One Future. What a motto!

It doesn't take note of race, creed, colour, or country. It takes the planet as a whole and this emanates not suddenly from this land. Vasudev Kutumbakam is a philosophy Bharat has lived with all throughout. If I make a claim—and I dare say no other country can claim what I am asserting now—Bharat has never believed in expansion, ever. The only nation in the world that has never believed in expansion and the Prime Minister of the country, to find a solution—resolute solutions to conflagrations in the world—gave another soothing dictum: War is no solution, diplomacy and dialogue are the only solutions. But then, when we take on the climate change menace, we have to create an ecosystem where there is holistic involvement of all. And that is why the visionary leadership of this country, Prime Minister Modi, took the lead during the G20 and the second aspect I indicated is that the African Union was made part of the G20 along with the European Union.

I stir the conscience of the distinguished audience to look at the depth of it. The nations of the European Union had the occasion to dominate over African Union nations, visionary leadership of this country brought them onto the same platform.

Then, another neglected section of global society, the Global South, voice lent as never before by Prime Minister Modi, then, we had the occasion to have in this country an international solar alliance, countries in three digits are participants of it at the moment, and the number is growing. Bhupendra Yadav knows about it, the Honourable Minister has addressed global platforms to indicate our achievements and commitment and that is not just a statement. Firm, foundational, and factual situation has emanated from this land as to what we are doing to save the planet. So, one, this country has become an epicentre to bring about harmony in the world. Two, I have already indicated, Global South and the African Union. But third, India has given a clarion call now that we must work in synergy, all agencies across the globe need to converge to tackle and address the menace of climate change and in this, distinguished audience, every individual has a role to play.

It is not a matter limited to state actors or organised groups, two things every individual can do: 

One, when we consume energy, can we consume energy just because we can afford it? Will our financial strength, progress will determine our consumption of energy? Everyone on the planet has to keep in mind that energy has to be consumed optimally. Energy has to be consumed as per your needs, energy has to be consumed in a manner that makes everything sustainable because we have to keep in mind one thing fundamentally that is we have inherited the planet in a damaged situation.

We have to do two things. 

One, the damage must be arrested, and second, the repairing must start. We are fortunate at the moment, from this country, that after a very long time, there is a leader from this country who dominates global discourse. His voice is heard all over, he talks on issues of humanity and global interest and I therefore have no doubt that the saga of success which this country has seen over a decade in fields that were staggering three decades and more ago.

I was a Member of Parliament, I could never dream, imagine, or believe that there could be a toilet in every home in this country, a gas connection in every household, and electricity finding its way, I could never imagine it. Distinguished audience, particularly from abroad, is a ground reality. 

India is no longer a sleeping giant or a sleeping elephant. It is on the rise, the rise is unstoppable, the rise is incremental and the rise is for the benefit of one and all. The kind of development India is having is very soothing for Renewable Energy Invest. I had the occasion to see the exhibition, but I have also seen the rural part. Go to any part of this country, and you will find increased interest and application of this, the growth has been astronomical, it is on the ground. When this happens, it bears relevance to your deliberations.

You will have to find new ways and innovations to tackle it. When it came to solar, our manufacturing did not keep pace with our requirement. That was a time when we depended on imports for solar equipment, it is not so with green hydrogen, India is among the few countries, in single digits, that focus on green hydrogen. By all estimates, by 2030, ₹8 lakh crore investment and 6 lakh jobs will be created and mind you, when we tackle climate change through these mechanisms, we also provide a greater basket of opportunities for our youth. The society gains in a holistic manner, that has to be done because people cannot exist in isolation; they cannot be islands unto themselves. 

COVID has shown the world that illness was non-discriminatory, it affected one and all, the rich and mighty suffered, and therefore, the steps being taken from this holy land will go a long way in shaping the destiny of this planet. 

Another aspect, symbolised by Mr. Prahlad Joshiji’s transition from the Ministry of Coal to Renewable Energy, Prime Minister hinted at two things in particular.

One, for Gandhiji said, this planet has everything—everything for everyone—provided we calibrate it to our needs but if we calibrate it to our greed, why this planet the entire, the entire universe will be short of it. We have to control greed. 

Reckless exploitation of natural resources created havoc on the earth. There was a time when we thought, 'What will happen if we don't have thermal power from coal? We don't have petroleum products?' and out of necessity, and without concern for long-term damage and to secure short-term advantages this was being done. But suddenly a paradigm shift has taken place, and particularly I'll address my foreign delegates, we are happy to welcome you here, but carry a message: India is 1.4 billion people, diversity, race, climate, region, religion, and herein you see sustainable development, there's a role model for the entire world. 

Friends, I'll take you to a scene which was there first in 1990 when I was a minister, then to 2014, and now, because this is bearing to the issue we are tackling. In 1990, a Member of Parliament was gratified to have 50 gas connections in a year. Distinguished Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh was a Member of Parliament then. Our 50 gas connections, and now more than 100 million have been given to the needy people, just imagine what a soothing aspect that was a time when our gold was shipped by air to Swiss banks to sustain our economic credibility. It was around 1 billion US dollars. Now, ₹680 billion US dollars, and in a single day you had more than a billion on occasions. A great achievement!

The world is turned. India is heading towards a peaceful mechanism, peaceful environment, the state of Jammu and Kashmir then did not have a good situation. I went there as a minister, and look at my plight, I couldn't see even a dozen people on the road and last year, 2 crore people visited as tourists that is the ecosystem we have created in this country. 

It will be difficult for the global people to realise that digital penetration in this country has gone to a level which is unmatched, every village has it, our direct transfers are more than 50% of global transactions. Per capita internet consumption is more than that of China and the US taken together. I am referring to all these things for two reasons. 

One, if India takes the lead, if India's leader Prime Minister Modi gives a clarion call, he means it. Everything he has said over 10 years is a ground reality, here is a man who not only lays foundation stones but inaugurates them, he always thinks ahead of times, and we can tackle climate menace only by thinking ahead of times but the good thing for the planet also is that the voice of the Indian leader is heard globally, with respect. He is looked at as one of the personalities on the planet who can bring about the resolution of conflagrations that are penning the planet at the moment. 

I am sure the time spent here over three days, the interactions you have had, the exchanges you have engaged in, the collaborative efforts that have been fructified will take the movement a long way but I would, in the end, appeal, and I would say it, you see, as we say in our sanskriti 

यह बहुत बड़ा हवन है, यह हवन धरती को बचाने का हवन है। इस हवन का आवाहन इस देश में हो गया है। इस हवन में हर किसी की आहुति जरूरी है। यह मात्र सरकार और संस्थाओं का काम नहीं है, क्योंकि धरती पर हर प्राणी इससे प्रभावित होने वाला है। इसे जल्द से जल्द पूर्ण करना चाहिए।

I have no doubt, distinguished audience, that the movement will get accelerated, fast-tracked by the kind of quality qualitative deliberations you have had over three days and each of you is not an individual, but an epicentre of a big change.

I will appeal to the media in particular, that media should be in mission mode, with passion, to make it a primary object that every man contributes, every person contributes in this change which is needed by us, so that we pass on to our future generations a planet worth habitable. We are trustees, undoubtedly, we inherited a damaged planet but we were callous and did not take cognisance of the damage either we were committing or others were committing, and we could have stopped it in time, we did not stop in time but now the awareness is universal, convergence is universal, synergy is all-pervasive. 

We are on the movement, It has taken off, I described Mr. Narendra Modi's journey in three aspects. 

One, in 2014, he was like a rocket that took off. Great effort was required, the country was in a despondent mood. His object was to generate an atmosphere of hope and possibility. The gap was large, 2014, the rocket took off. It escaped the gravitational force by generating hope and possibility. In 2019.

In 2024, after creating history by becoming Prime Minister, for the first time in six decades, for the first time, third term continually, the rocket is now not in gravitational force, the rocket is in space and the achievements, therefore, have to be astronomical, also in this field.

I wish everyone here, and those connected, great success in this venture, I am one with you, I am your soldier. In my own way, I will be doing everything I can, I request you, please also do everything you can, individually and collectively.

Thank you so much. I am grateful for your time.

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JK/RC/SM