Indian Railways to be fully electrified in next 3.5 years

Indian Railways will move towards 100 percent electrification in the next 3.5 years, announced Railways Minister Piyush Goyal while addressing an event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on July 16, 2020. 

The Minister shared that by 2030, every Indian citizen will be a proud owner of the world’s largest clean Railways. He announced this at an event that was held with the theme- “Towards a self-reliant India: renewable energy manufacturing.”

Railways will move to 100% electrification in next 3.5 yrs & 100% 'Net Zero' operator in next 9-10 yrs. By 2030, each one of us will be a proud citizen, owning the world's first large 'Clean Railways': Min of Railways Piyush Goyal at a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) event pic.twitter.com/LFuWJT5unA

— ANI (@ANI) July 16, 2020

The Minister also highlighted that the central government is promoting Make in India for renewable energy and is fully committed to making the industry Atma Nirbhar. 

Key Highlights

Indian Railways will aim to move toward 100 percent electrification in the next 3.5 years and 100 percent Net Zero operator in the next 9-10 years. 

The Minister stated that India has invested deeply in the transmission sector for the widespread availability of sector. 

One Sun, One World, One Grid

Railways Minister Piyush Goyal spoke about the concept of One Sun, One World, One Grid, which has been promoted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and said that transitioning into an international solar grid is something we are all working on. 

Renewable Energy 

The Railway Minister stated that India is leading the international renewable community, adding that renewable energy is the way forward and along with environmental benefits, it is good for the nation economically. 

Goyal further added that with PM-KUSUM Yojana, the government plans to bring farmers too in renewable energy fold.

Background 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said earlier that India has become a model for the world when the transition to renewable energy is mentioned. He stated that every willing citizen has access to power at affordable prices.