The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated ‘Umang-2015’,a Festival of Energy at the Dr. Rajendra Prasad Sarvodaya Vidyalaya School in President’s Estate today (December 11, 2015). He declared the Dr. Rajendra Prasad Sarvodaya Vidyalaya School a solar powered green school and also launched Sajag - a Smartphone App on energy education. Speaking on the occasion, the President said that the theme “Nayi Zindagi ki Umang, Swachh Urja ke Sang” of ‘Umang 2015’ is very timely, particularly when the whole world is brainstorming to halt global warming. Leaders from all over the world have called in the “2015 Paris Climate Conference” for a cut in carbon emissions and movement towards sustainable living.
The President said India supports around 17% of the world’s population, but its energy and electricity consumption is just around 5% of the world consumption. It’s per capita consumption of energy and electricity is less than one third of the world average. In order to sustain a growth rate of over 8% through the next two decades, India will need to grow its primary energy supply by 3 to 4 times and electricity supply by at least 5 to 7 times of its current consumption. Therefore, we as a country, have a huge responsibility and challenge to meet our developmental requirements. We must at the same time, ensure that we remain committed to clean energy.
The President said he would like to see in future many more government schools going ‘green through solar power’ and contributing to the clean energy movements in the country. He expressed hope that the Education Department of Government of Delhi will take this initiative forward and make Delhi a Clean and Green City.