India plans for more energy and economic growth

India’s PM Modi described targets and growth plans for India in the Economist.

India has ambitious target of 175 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2022. W
They have commenced replacement of 770m incandescent bulbs with LED lighting by 2019.
Renewable and energy and LED bulbs will reduce their peak load by 20 gigawatts and greenhouse-gas emissions by 79 million tonnes of CO2 per year. We have to reconcile climate-change goals with the energy-access imperatives of the poor. They will put affordable, clean and renewable energy within reach of all Indians. India has time-honored traditions of conservation and respect for ecology that the world could usefully emulate.

They have launched initiatives to generate faster and more inclusive growth, aimed at realizing tangibly better lives for all Indians by 2022. This entails eliminating poverty within a democratic polity on a scale unparalleled in human history. And they will be doing so amid a sputtering global economy and threats such as cross-border terrorism.

Poor households are being brought into the financial system and their bank accounts seamlessly linked with biometric identification numbers and mobile-money platforms. Since August 2014 the poor have opened more than 190 million new bank accounts, with deposits of nearly $4 billion. Our revamped cooking-gas subsidy scheme, now the world’s largest cash-transfer program, has plugged subsidy leaks worth $2.5 billion.

To strengthen their banking system, we have moved decisively on non-performing loans. They are injecting capital into state-owned banks and have appointed new, dynamic heads, including some from the private sector. Our flagship programs are tapping into our demographic dividend by encouraging risk-taking and entrepreneurship among young people. Already, global investors have shown confidence. Net foreign direct investment is up and in 2016 economic growth will remain the highest among major economies.