Govt committed to promote renewable energy, especially in MSME sector: Gadkari

New Delhi, Mar 13 (KNN) The Government is committed to promote renewable energy resources in the country, especially in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector, said MSME Minister, Nitin Gadkari.

Gadkari said this on Friday evening at a webinar on “Atmanirbhar Bharat” – “Opportunities in Solar & MSME” which was organised by Indian People’s Forum in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

He said that the MSMEs with a good track record are now being encouraged for the capital market. There is a huge opportunity for investment in scrapping policy.

''India has tremendous potential and capacity for electricity generation. The solar power rate in India is Rs 2.40 per unit and commercial rate of power is Rs 11 per unit and the cheap power generated through solar energy can be used for automobiles and other developmental works,'' he added.

He exuded confidence that within five years, India will be the top manufacturing hub for automobiles in the world. He also said, by making solar energy available, we will create a big market for electric vehicles.

The Minister invited investors abroad to invest in Indian MSMEs and expressed hope that this will provide a number of opportunities to the MSME sector to become the world’s largest manufacturing hub. Terming MSME sector as the backbone of the Indian economy, Gadkari said that the sector contributes around 30 per cent in the country’s GDP and provides employment to over 10 crore people.

The event was aimed at providing a platform for MSMEs to showcase their strength, highlight their business opportunities, and to facilitate the dissemination of knowledge. Indian renewable energy sector is the fourth most attractive renewable energy market in the world. India is at fifth position in solar and fourth in renewable power installed capacity.

The Government has set an ambitious target for renewable energy and in particular, solar power generation, for this decade. The target for renewable energy installation is 450 GW by 2030.