Text of the prime ministers speech

21 August 2007

"This is a very proud and solemn moment for all of us. I am very happy to be here today to lay the foundation stone of the Rajiv Gandhi Urja Bhavan. In doing so, I join all of you and millions of our countrymen in honouring the memory of a great son of India. We pay tribute to Rajivjis commitment to Indias energy security by observing this day as Akshay Urja Divas. I am very happy that Soniaji is present on this auspicious occasion. Her deep and abiding commitment to the ideas and ideals we associate with Shri Rajiv Gandhi is a source of tremendous inspiration for our people.

"Shri Rajiv Gandhi was a visionary. He thought about the future of the nation and was passionately committed to the development of a modern India. As a visionary, dreamer, idealist and an energetic leader, he wanted to harness modern science and technology for the development of our country and for the welfare of our people.

"Rajivjis dreams in the fields of telecommunication and information technology have been realized to a very substantial degree and we see it all expressing itself in our everyday life. In laying the foundation stone for this building we recognize Rajivjis deep and abiding commitment to Indias energy security. Indias sustained economic development is vitally dependent on our energy security and on the simultaneous promotion of sustainable and environment friendly energy technologies.

"Today, when we aim for a 10 per cent growth rate, we must recognise the critical importance of energy security. By energy security, I refer not merely to the assurance of the supply of energy in ample quantities. Real energy security implies assured supply of good quality energy at affordable prices. Indias energy needs, which will grow with the pace of economic development, cannot be met with oil and gas for long.

"Currently, the total domestic production by Indian companies is less than one-third of our current domestic consumption of hydro-carbons. As we know, oil and gas reserves in India are quite limited though there is always a scope to discover a new reserve through exploration. As we grow, our growing import bill for imported crude oil will put an unbearable and unsustainable burden on our economy. These facts compel us to think of a new strategy to deal with the rising energy demand.

"We need, therefore, a new paradigm of energy security to address our development needs. This paradigm would have to focus on several issues: a less-energy intensive path of development, an increasing use of non-conventional and renewable energy sources, also aimed at reducing carbon emissions, and improving efficiency in production and consumption. Such a strategy would have to be based on coordinated development and judicious use of domestic as well as global resources. This will require exploring new technological options, new financing means, identifying new sources and building new bridges with new partners including global partners.