In 9 Years, Broadband Users Grew By 13X and Internet Connections By 3X: PM

The number of broadband users in India has soared 13X while the count of internet connections grew by 3X in the last nine years, said Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi. 

At the India Energy Week conference in Bengaluru, the PM said that more than 6 Lakh kilometres of optical fibres have been laid in Indian villages to provide internet access.

“The number of internet users in India’s rural regions has grown at a faster pace as compared to urban areas,” he added. 

He also shared that the nation has become the second-largest manufacturer of mobile phones in the world. Quoting International Energy Association, he stated that the country’s energy demands will be the highest in the present decade which presents an opportunity for the investors and stakeholders of the energy sector. 

While talking about India’s share in the global market, he said that India presently accounts for a 5% share in the global oil demand, which will reach 11%, whereas the country’s gas demand is expected to rise up to 500%. He also emphasised that the country’s energy sector will generate new opportunities for investment and collaboration.

Speaking about the battery cost of electric vehicles, he said that the cost of batteries is 40-50% of the cost of electric cars. He also hoped that the Centre’s PLI scheme worth INR 18,000 Cr would help manufacture advanced chemistry cells of 50 GigaWatt hours.

Talking about the Green Energy initiative, he said that in the last nine years, the country’s renewable energy capacity grew from 70 GigaWatts to about 170 GigaWatts. Referring to the E-20 rollout, he said that the first phase of the rollout will cover 15 Indian cities and in the next two years, it will be expanded across the country. 

“We are aiming to have 50% non-fossil fuel capacity by the end of this decade. We are also working very fast on biofuel and ethanol blending. In the last 9 years, we have increased ethanol blending in petrol from 1.5% to 10%. Now we are moving towards the target of 20% ethanol blending,” he said.

He also informed that the Centre is working to increase the consumption of natural gas from 6% to 15% in the energy mix by 2030 where all the needed infrastructure will be provided by ‘One Nation One Grid’. 

“The government is trying to increase the capacity of LNG Terminal regasification”, he added.

 The announcements come days after the Centre extended custom duty exemption to the import of capital goods and machinery required for the production of lithium-ion (Li-ion) cells for batteries used in electric vehicles. 

“My indirect tax proposals will aim to promote exports, boost domestic manufacturing, enhance domestic value addition, encourage green energy, and mobility. A simplified tax structure with fewer tax rates helps in reducing compliance burden and improving tax administration. I propose to reduce the number of basic customs duty rates on goods other than textiles and agriculture from 21(%) to 13(%),” said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, at the Union Budget session.

Recently, under the second phase of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme, Maharashtra recorded the highest number of EV sales in the country followed by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.