‘I Want a Worldwide Solar Revolution’: Modi at Solar Alliance Meet
Catch all the live updates from the International Solar Alliance Summit on The Quint.
Delhi Police Issue Traffic Advisory
According to an advisory issued by the Delhi police, traffic movement will be restricted on certain roads from 10 to 12 March.
Motorists have been advised to avoid Satya Marg, Shanti Path, Teen Murti roundabout, South Avenue Road, Dara Shikoh Road, Akbar Road, Krishna Menon Marg, Vijay Chowk, Mother Teresa Crescent Road, and Sardar Patel Marg.
Other Lutyens' roads that should be avoided are Panchsheel Marg, San Martin Marg, Kautilya Marg, Tyag Raj Marg, Safdarjung Road, and Tughlak Road, among others.
The advisory said commuters could use Ring Road, Bhairon Road, Matura Road, Lodhi Road, Aurobindo Marg, AIIMS Chowk, and Dhaula Kuan.
PM Modi Holds Bilateral Meets
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, 9 March, held a series of bilateral meetings with the heads of three nations ahead of the founding conference of the Solar Summit.
Modi met Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe, President of the Republic of Togo; Enele Sopoaga, Prime Minister of Tuvalu; and Charlot Salwai, Prime Minister of the Republic of Vanuatu, at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, official sources said.
He will hold similar meetings with Baron Waqa, President of the Republic of Nauru; Issoufou Mahamadou, President of the Republic of Niger; Daniel Kablan Duncan, Vice President of the Republic of Cote d' Ivoire; Albert Pahimi Padacke, Prime Minister of the Republic of Chad, and Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea.
On Sunday, 11 March, he will meet leaders from Sri Lanka, Australia and Bangladesh, among others, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre.
Global Bankers Participating in Solar Summit
Several global bankers have confirmed their participation at the event, including Werner Hoyer, president and chairman, European Investment Bank; KV Kamath, president, BRICS Development Bank; Nandita Parshad, managing director, energy and natural resources, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and Banbang Susantono, vice president, ASIAN Development Bank.
The summit will focus on various aspects of promoting solar energy in 121 countries that are part of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), like credit mechanism, crowd-funding and sharing of technology breakthroughs.
Stage Set for First Mega International Solar Summit
The stage is set for the first mega International Solar Summit on Sunday, 11 March, which will be attended by foreign dignitaries, including several state heads and business leaders.
Heads of states of as many as 23 nations, including France, Australia and Sri Lanka, will attend the first International Solar Alliance Summit in New Delhi.
The summit assumes significance in view of India's ambitious renewable energy target of having 175 GW clean energy capacities, including 100 GW solar and 60 GW wind power. The event is being co-hosted by India and France to promote solar energy.
PM Modi Addresses Summit
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the dignitaries of 23 countries gathered at the summit, stating that India would produce 175 GW of electricity from renewable sources by 2022, and as much as 100 GW from solar energy. French President, Emmanuel Macron delivered the opening address at the event.
Modi Outlines 10-Point Action Plan to Harness Solar Energy
PM Modi, in his ongoing address at the Solar Summit, has outlined a 10-point action plan to bring about a “worldwide solar revolution”.
Modi has also said that India will provide 500 training slots for ISA member countries and start solar tech mission to lead R&D in the sector.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Addresses the Plenary
Swaraj has announced that India has provided support worth US$ 27 million towards hosting the ISA secretariat, created an ISA corpus fund, offered training support for ISA member countries at National Institute for Solar Energy (NISE) and also provided support for demonstration projects for solar home lighting, solar pumps for farmers and for other solar applications. Apart from this, the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) and Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) have announced contribution of US$ 1 million each to the ISA corpus.
Rwandan President Addresses the Plenary
President of Rwanda and Chairman of the African Union, Paul Kagame, takes to the stage to address the plenary.
French President Lauds India, Takes Dig at Trump in His Speech
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday, 11 March, that one trillion US dollars will be needed to achieve one terawatt (TW) of solar power capacity by 2030, reported PTI.
Without any names, he referred to countries quitting the historic Paris Climate agreement, and said ISA nations came together to "deliver complete results".
The oblique reference was to US President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement, which was signed by nearly 200 countries in December 2015.
Macron said countries represented at ISA represent three-fourths of the world population. As much as 20-50 percent of the population do not have access to power, he said.
"In order to reach the 1,000 billion dollars by 2030, to reach the 1 TW of solar energy, we need private investors," he said, adding that the alliance will provide a favourable framework.
Macron also lauded India for showing the world the way in scaling up solar power generation capacity.
"Focus was On Capacity Building:" MEA Spokesperson Ravish Kumar
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Joint Secretary K Nagaraj Naidu has said that 121 countries have already signed the International Solar Alliance agreement. He also said that other countries are in the process of going through it.
Elaborating on the bilateral meeting with African nations on the sidelines of the International Solar Alliance, MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that the focus was on capacity building and that India is offering assistance to the African nations.
PM Modi Meets Foreign Leaders, Holds Bilateral Talks on Sidelines of Summit
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with the presidents of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Seychelles on key issues, including developmental cooperation, besides holding parleys with leaders from the UAE, Seychelles, Comoros, Guyana, Fiji, Djibouti, Somalia, Mali, Rwanda, Australia, Burkina Faso, Togo, and Gabon.
Delhi Police Issues Traffic Advisory in Light of Summit
The Delhi Police issued a traffic advisory, with guidelines on roads to avoid, on account of heightened security arrangements for foreign dignitaries in India for the summit.
US, China Keen to Join International Solar Alliance
United States and China are also keen to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA) that aims to promote solar energy across countries falling on the Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn, a senior official said.
"The other countries like the US and China are among the prospective 121 countries under the ISA. But, they are yet to sign the agreement. They have shown interest," External Affairs Joint Secretary (Europe West) K Nagaraj Naidu said, while replying to a question whether other countries have shown interest in the ISA.
The first International Solar Alliance (ISA) Summit began on Sunday, 11 March, and witnessed as many as 23 nations in attendance, including France, Australia and Sri Lanka.
Apart from French President Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also met with leaders of Australia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Somalia, Burkina Faso, UAE, and Rwanda, among other countries.
- PM Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with international leaders on the sidelines of the ISA Summit in New Delhi on Sunday, 11 March
- PM Modi, in his address at the International Solar Alliance Summit, outlined a 10-point action plan to bring about a “worldwide solar revolution”
- French President Emmanuel Macron lauded India for showing the world the way to scale up solar power generation capacity
- Representatives from as many as 23 nations attended the International Solar Alliance Summit
- The summit focused on various aspects of promoting solar energy in 121 countries that are part of the ISA
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