India Calls for Secure, Affordable Energy at G20 Meet
Manohar Lal highlights India’s 552 GW power capacity, regulatory reforms and critical mineral supply chains
GG News Bureau
Houston, 17th Sept: Union Minister for Power and Housing & Urban Affairs Manohar Lal on Wednesday called for secure, affordable and reliable energy while representing India at the G20 Energy Abundance Ministerial Meeting held in Houston, USA, from September 14 to 16 under the US G20 Presidency.
The discussions were held under three thematic pillars — energy security and affordable baseload; permitting and regulatory efficiency; and critical minerals and resilient supply chains.
Lal said reliable and affordable energy was essential for development, particularly for developing economies, and called for international cooperation while respecting the different national circumstances and development priorities of countries.
The Minister highlighted India’s progress in the power sector, saying installed electricity generation capacity had reached 552 GW, with more than half coming from non-fossil fuel sources. He also referred to India’s progress towards its climate commitments and its target of achieving Net Zero by 2070.
On regulatory reforms, Lal highlighted initiatives including the National Single Window System, PARIVESH and PM Gati Shakti, saying such mechanisms have helped streamline approvals and improve predictability for infrastructure development.
The meeting resulted in several outcomes across the three pillars.
The G20 Statement on Advancing Clean Cooking Access called for universal access to clean cooking and supported a technology-neutral approach suited to individual national circumstances.
The statement recognised LPG as an important clean-cooking pathway, particularly for developing countries, and called for equitable access to financing for different clean-cooking solutions.
On permitting and regulation, the G20 Permitting and Regulatory Efficiency Symposium emphasised streamlined processes for energy infrastructure development. Members also encouraged voluntary information exchange, capacity building and the use of digital and AI-enabled tools.
The G20 Critical Minerals Meeting Communiqué recognised the importance of critical minerals for energy security, digital infrastructure, emerging technologies and economic development.
Lal stressed the need for secure, resilient and diversified supply chains and highlighted the importance of recycling, recovery and downstream value addition.
He also outlined India’s National Critical Mineral Mission, which covers the critical mineral value chain from exploration to recycling. India called for greater G20 cooperation on recycling, recovery and supply-chain diversification.
The meeting also advanced the G20 Water Reuse Initiative, a voluntary framework promoting science- and evidence-based water reuse suited to national policies and requirements.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Lal held bilateral discussions with Chris Wright, US Secretary of Energy; Doug Burgum, US Secretary of the Interior; and Corey Hogan, Parliamentary Secretary to Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.
The discussions covered resilient energy infrastructure and supply chains, power sector transformation and India’s plans to meet the growing energy requirements of its digital economy.
India’s participation at the ministerial meeting highlighted its position on energy security, regulatory efficiency and resilient critical mineral supply chains as G20 countries discussed measures to strengthen the global energy system.
