On behalf of 1.3 billion Indians, PM Modi vows to keep our environment green and clean
My Ministerial Colleagues Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Shri Manoj Sinha.
Executive Director, United Nations
Environment Program Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change Other Distinguished Dignitaries from India and Abroad
Ladies and Gentlemen.
On behalf of the one point three billion people of India, I am delighted to welcome you all to New Delhi.
On the side-lines of this event, I hope the delegates joining us from abroad, shall have some time to see the history and splendour of Delhi.
We are proud to be the global host for World Environment Day, 2018.
As we celebrate this important occasion today, we recall our ancient ethos of universal brotherhood.
This has been expressed in the famous Sanskrit phrase– VasudhaivaKutumbakam – the world is one family.
Our traditions have for long stressed the importance of living in harmony with nature.
This is reflected in our reverence of the elements of nature. It is reflected in our festivals, and in our ancient texts.
Ladies and Gentlemen.
India is the fastest growing economy in the world today. We are committed to raising the standards of living of our people.
We are also committed to ensure, that we do so, in a way that is sustainable and green.
In this direction, we have given forty million new cooking gas connections in the last two years.
This has freed rural women from the misery of poisonous smoke.
It has also eliminated their dependence on firewood.
It is the same commitment, which has seen over three hundred million LED bulbs being installed across India. Besides saving electricity, this has also prevented huge additional amounts of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere.
We are engaged in a massive push towards renewable energy generation. We have
