PM Modi expressed confidence that India will achieve the target of 175 GW of renewable energy

Amid his thrust on renewable energy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday wondered whether India could become a hub of solar power battery manufacturing, which can play a major role in the march towards clean energy.

He stated this while giving example of mobile phones, saying their popularity increased manifold as the size of their batteries decreased.

PM Modi was responding when asked for his comments on the global challenge of climate change after he addressed the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) here in presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed and Mongolian President Kjhaltmaagin Battulga.

He said India, as part of its aspiration to generate 175 GW of clean energy by 2022, is focusing on solar power in a big way.

Expressing confidence that India will achieve the target of 175 GW of renewable energy, the Prime Minister wondered whether India could become a hub of solar power battery manufacturing.

He said he has invited companies dealing in it to discuss the matter.

He said if solar power was used for cooking in the country, there was scope for 250 million batteries, which in turn could benefit the electric vehicle market through cross-subsidy.