By IANS,
New Delhi : The government plans to add at least 13,000 mega watt of electricity generating capacity each year that will include more village and rural electrification, President Pratibha Patil told the joint session of parliament Thursday.
Stating that an integrated energy policy will guide “coordinated action for energy”, Patil said: “Effort would be to see that at least 13,000 MW of generating capacity is added each year through a mix of sources – coal, hydel, nuclear and renewables.”
She noted that efficiency would be enhanced in the power sector through “time-bound measures including operationalising the provision of open access”.
“Village and rural household electrification, and reduction in aggregate technical and commercial losses will continue to be given the highest priority,” Patil said in her speech.
The president told the parliament that “energy security and environmental protection” would be one of the 10 broad priority areas for the government in the next five years.
She said that oil diplomacy will be “aggresively pursued” even as the pace of oil and gas exploration will be intensified.
“Reforms in the coal sector, for which a detailed blueprint has been prepared, will be pursued with urgency,” she said.
On the nuclear front, Patil said that international nuclear agreements will be operationalised even as domestic sources of uranium are exploited and work continues on the indigenously designed fast breeder and thorium reactors.
India has signed civil nuclear agreements with the US, Russia, France and Kazakhstan.