Union Minister of Railways & Coal Piyush Goyal was on January 30, 2019 formally conferred with the fourth annual Carnot Prize by the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design in New Delhi.
The Minister had previously been unable to accept the award in the United States of America, due to the unfortunate train tragedy that took place in Amritsar. Upon receiving the award, the Minister stated that “it is both a personal honour as well as a tribute to the efforts of all involved in this great work throughout India to be recognised with the Carnot Prize by the University of Pennsylvania”.
Key Highlights
• The 2018 Carnot Prize has been conferred in recognition of India’s efforts towards eliminating energy poverty with sustainable energy solutions.
• The rural electrification drive helped in achieving 24x7 Affordable, Environment-Friendly Power for all, as India eliminated decades of darkness in more than 19,000 villages on April 28, 2018.
• Further, with the Saubhagya Programme, the last-mile connectivity to every household in the villages is being fast-tracked.
• Piyush Goyal has decided that the award money, which he will receive as part of the 2018 Carnot Prize, will be donated to the International Solar Alliance to institute the Diwakar Award.
• The Diwakar award will recognise, every year, an outstanding organisation that has been working for special children and maximising the use of solar energy.
Speaking on the conferral, Mark Alan Hughes, founding faculty director at the Kleinman Center, commended that India’s electrification drive - “providing power to the world’s energy poor turns on the lights and also empowers education, sanitation, and health care. It closes the gap between the haves and have nots.”
The Carnot Prize is the Kleinman Center’s annual recognition of distinguished contributions to energy policy through scholarship or practice. The most prestigious award in the energy sector, Carnot Prize is named after French physicist Nicolas Sadi Carnot who recognised that the power of the steam engine would “produce a great revolution” in human development. The award is intended to honour those leading revolutions in energy policy to further progress and prosperity. The previous winners of the award include Dr. Daniel Yergin, Vice-chairman of IHS, Dr. Fatih Birol, Director of International Energy Agency and Gina McCarthy who is a career public servant in fields of energy and environment. |
Background
In the last four years, energy efficiency has become a people’s movement in India, making the Government’s UJALA scheme the world’s largest LED distribution programme. Along with private sector participation, 143 crore LED bulbs have been provided.
Further, a massive thrust to green energy is reflected in India’s 175 GW target by 2022, which is the world’s largest renewable expansion programme.
The Carnot Prize recognises India’s “solid footing to reach a 40 per cent renewable mix by 2030”.