Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the International Conference on 'The Future of Environment and Climate Dynamics' at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, highlighting India's environmental achievements and progress in renewable energy. The Prime Minister emphasized that India's per capita carbon emissions remain less than half of the global average, countering the narrative that unfairly places emission responsibilities on developing countries.
India has made extraordinary progress across all environmental sectors over the past 12 years, with renewable energy being a major focus. The country is the only G-20 nation to have met its COP-21 Paris Summit commitments ahead of schedule. Solar capacity has dramatically increased from just 2 gigawatts 12 years ago to over 160 gigawatts currently, supported by the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana which has solarized over 50 lakh homes with financial assistance of up to ₹80,000 per household. The Kusum Yojana has provided solar pumps to 30 lakh farmers, while the One Nation-One Grid project has prevented 200 million tonnes of carbon emissions.
In clean energy, wind capacity has tripled, hydro power has significantly expanded, and nuclear power generation now welcomes private players, resulting in a nearly fourfold increase in non-fossil energy capacity. India launched its first Hydrogen Train, the world's longest, marking a new era in clean mobility. Electric vehicle sales have increased 950-fold from under 3,000 units before 2014 to approximately 25 lakh units last year. The FASTag system has reduced fuel wastage by minimizing toll booth wait times.
Transport infrastructure has expanded dramatically, with metro networks growing from serving 5 cities with 250 kilometers in 2014 to over 20 cities today, with India now having a metro network exceeding 1,000 kilometers. Near-total railway electrification has saved crores of liters of diesel, while the newly inaugurated 3,000-kilometer Dedicated Freight Corridor replaces hundreds of polluting trucks per journey with double-stack container trains. Approximately 5,000 kilometers of inland waterways now operate, with single vessels carrying loads equivalent to dozens of trucks.
Water conservation efforts include the construction of over 70,000 Amrit Sarovars and 1.5 crore rainwater harvesting structures under the Catch the Rain campaign. Modern irrigation techniques under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana and 'Per Drop, More Crop' initiative are saving water for over 2 crore farmers. Millets (Shree Anna) promotion has boosted production and increased exports to 1.5 lakh tons, contributing to water conservation and inspiring the International Year of Millets 2023.
Ecological agriculture includes 24,000 natural farming clusters across 12.5 lakh hectares under the National Mission on Natural Farming, development of 3,000 climate-resilient crop varieties, and promotion of agro-forestry to reduce carbon footprints. Very dense forest cover has increased by more than 22% over the last 12 years, supported by the 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' campaign encouraging citizens to plant crores of trees.
India has implemented a national ban on single-use plastics and is pushing toward a Circular Economy based on reducing, reusing, and recycling thousands of tons of daily waste. The Gobardhan Yojana converts rural organic waste into valuable resources through a Wealth from Waste model. The Prime Minister framed these achievements as India's contribution to humanity's future, demonstrating that rapid development can coexist with environmental sustainability.