Piyush Goyal hails 11 years of energy sector reforms, cites shift from scarcity to sustainability

New Delhi, December 16. Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India’s energy sector transformation over the past 11 years demonstrates how a clear vision, decisive leadership and sustained execution can reshape a nation’s future.

Addressing a briefing in New Delhi on December 15, the death anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Goyal said the country remembers not only the Iron Man of India but also a leader who believed in political, economic and strategic self-reliance. He said that same spirit has been carried forward under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, particularly in the energy sector.

Highlighting key milestones, the minister said India recorded its highest-ever coal production of 1,048 million tonnes in 2024-25, even as coal imports fell by about 8 percent. He said solar power capacity has expanded 46-fold over the past 11 years, making India the third-largest solar power producer globally, while wind power capacity rose from 21 GW in 2014 to 53 GW in 2025. India has also emerged as the world’s fourth-largest refining hub and is working to raise refining capacity by 20 percent, he added.

Goyal said the country’s natural gas infrastructure has expanded rapidly, with 34,238 km of pipelines authorised, of which 25,923 km are already operational. He also referred to the proposed Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, which aims to open up the nuclear energy sector to private participation.

According to the minister, India has moved from chronic power shortages to surplus generation, grid integration and global leadership in renewable energy. \

“This transition was not accidental,” he said, adding that India has progressed from power scarcity to power security and is now moving towards long-term power sustainability.

Goyal outlined five pillars underpinning the energy sector’s transformation. The first is universal access, achieved through schemes such as Saubhagya, which provided electricity connections to every household, and UJALA, under which 36.87 crore LED bulbs were distributed, lowering power bills and cutting carbon emissions. He said clean cooking gas connections to 10 crore households have improved women’s health, while the PM-KUSUM scheme has enabled farmers to become energy producers.

The second pillar, he said, is affordability. GST on solar, wind and other clean energy equipment was cut from 12 percent to 5 percent, and the 20 percent ethanol blending target was achieved well ahead of the original 2030 deadline. Inter-state transmission charges for solar and wind power have also been waived, he added.

The third pillar is availability, with power shortages declining from 4.2 percent in 2013 to 0.03 per cent in 2025. Goyal said the creation of a unified national grid allowed India to meet a record peak power demand of 250 GW.

The fourth pillar is financial viability. Reforms under the PM-UDAY scheme have strengthened power distribution companies, with DISCOM dues falling from Rs. 1.4 lakh crore in 2022 to Rs. 6,500 crore in 2025, he said.

The fifth pillar, according to the minister, is sustainability and global responsibility. He said India has become the first G20 country to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, and that 50 percent of installed power capacity now comes from non-fossil fuel sources.

Looking ahead to Viksit Bharat 2047, Goyal said the government is recalibrating its strategy to meet future energy challenges. He cited the National Green Hydrogen Mission, which targets production of five million tonnes per year by 2030 and aims to cut fossil fuel imports by over Rs. 1 lakh crore, and the PM Surya Ghar scheme, under which rooftop solar installations are being rolled out in around 20 lakh households.

Quoting the Prime Minister, Goyal said strengthening India’s energy sector requires empowering citizens. He added that several recommendations of the High-Powered Committee on coal are under consideration, including faster coal exploration and mining and accelerated coal gasification.

Expressing confidence in India’s trajectory, the minister said the country’s energy sector is poised to become a global case study in managing scale, speed and sustainability as it moves towards the centenary of Independence.