NEW DELHI: India's power sector will slam the door on foreign firms from countries that do not allow Indian companies to invest and make money in their markets, introducing a strong element of reciprocity, power, coal, renewable energy and mines minister Piyush Goyal said.Goyal also said renewable power was central to India's long-term energy security at a low cost and rubbished claims that electricity generated from wind, sun or water was harming the grid or conventional power. He was also optimistic about the future of electric cars and the country's power situation, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, where the new chief minister was sharply focused on reforming the sector.India has the world's most liberal regime for foreign direct investment but countries that were gaining from the vast Indian market were making one-sided gains."Reciprocity will be the rule. Either they open up for us, or we close down for them. India is not a market to be exploited and enjoyed when you protect your own market. Countries that do not allow our companies, we will not allow their companies," Goyal told ET in an interview. "You have to be strong. You have to have courage of conviction. Fortunately, that's something Prime Minister Narendra Modi doesn't lack."India offers huge projects for international bidding in the power sector. A recent project in the transmission sector was worth Rs 6,000 crore. On the solar energy sector, which has expanded an unprecedented 370% in three years of the Modi government, Goyal rubbished claims by some experts that this was a threat to grid stability and a problem for thermal power stations. Since the government took charge, solar power capacity had grown from 2,600 mw to 12,200 mw, producing 20 billion units of electricity."A country that makes 1,200 billion units, what is 20 billion units? Can you call it the cause of the problems that the thermal sector or any other sector is having? So it's all excuses and it's a naysayer philosophy - whatever good is happening, criticise it," Goyal said."Solar is India's energy security in the long run at low cost. We can run out of coal, oil, gas or uranium, you won't run out of wind, sun or water. All these hydro plants set up 50 years go are giving power at 20 paise. Three rupees power, 25 years from now, will be similar - other forms of power will probably be Rs 20-25."The government is also working towards the greater use of electric cars, which will sharply reduce India's heavy dependence on petroleum products, a big drain on foreign exchange."I suspect that by 2030 we should be able to start selling electric cars across the board and I believe these cars will not only be more efficient, they will also be much cheaper to operate," Goyal said."Costs will fall drastically. Maintenance cost will fall, operating cost, fuel cost will fall. It will be much cleaner energy. Battery prices have fallen drastically. Next three years, I expect them to halve or go lower."Some car companies have suggested the use of hybrid cars before the leap to electric cars, but Goyal said India would take the lead in new technology."India is leading the world. We will not wait for others to develop. We are doing R&D," he said. Goyal was optimistic about the progress of the power sector in Uttar Pradesh where chief minister Yogi Adityanath is taking strong initiatives to improve the situation. "The state is a transformed state in terms of thinking," the minister said."If you ask me, there's been no comparable example. The chief minister in 55 days of government has talked to me a dozen times. Focused on power, power, power. I'm not superimposing anything, but we'll share whatever we have learnt - why should we reinvent the wheel?"He said 2.5 lakh people in the state had already taken legal connections in three weeks since the scheme was announced. Officials had expected the number to rise to 5 lakh, but the state's power minister hopes to convert 20 lakh illegal connections to metered, legal customers.