Union Cabinet Approves MoU Between India and France on Renewable Energy

The Union Cabinet was apprised and approved of the signing of MoU between India and France in the field of renewable energy cooperation.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was apprised of the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and France in the field of renewable energy cooperation.  

The MoU which was signed in January 2021, has the objective to establish the basis for the promotion of bilateral cooperation in the field of new and renewable energy on the basis of mutual benefit, equality and reciprocity.  It covers technologies relating to solar, wind, hydrogen and biomass energy.

The MoU entails:

· exchange and training of scientific and technical personnel;

· exchange of scientific and technological information and data;

· organization of workshops and seminars; transfer of equipment, know-how and technology;

· development of joint research and technological projects. 

This MoU will help in the development of technological know-how in the field of Renewable Energy and thereby aid the process of attaining the ambitious target of 450 GW of installed Renewable Energy capacity by 2030.

Considering the mutual gains for both nations, the Cabinet approved the MoU.

In January, we had reported that India and France had formed an alliance to strengthen their cooperation in sustainable development and work towards increasing renewable energy (RE) adoption and more key areas that boost global environment protection. 

Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar had said that “we are the two main pillars of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) launched by PM Modi. This revolutionary step has changed into a successful experiment. This partnership towards global environment protection will set an example for the rest of the world to work more effectively and efficiently towards sustainable development.”

Adding that “India has made significant progress towards climate change action & has already achieved 26 percent of reduction of emission intensity. As of 2020, the renewable capacity in India stands at 90 GW which includes 36 GW of solar energy & 38 GW of wind energy.”

The French minister also reiterated the significance of the Indo-French partnership towards climate change and environment protection and said that through this partnership, France and India look forward to setting an example for the rest of the world. “India can motivate many many countries in the field of sustainable development,” said Minister for Ecological Transition Barbara Pompili.