Govt for non-conventional energy to reduce oil dependence

Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan today said the government is trying to harness non-conventional energy like solar power to cut down the country's dependence on other nations for crude oil.

"We have to depend on other countries for crude oil as we have less reserves of oil in our country. However, we are tapping non-conventional energy like solar and promoting it," the minister of state (independent charge) for petroleum and natural gas told reporters at a press conference here.

Pradhan said he is visiting Marathwada region in Maharashtra to spread awareness about Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY).

The minister said one crore people, including from middle class, have given up subsidy on LPG cylinders so far.

"The number of LPG connections shoot up to 21 crore after Narendra Modi government came to power from 14 crore connections earlier," he said.

Responding to a query, Pradhan attributed the use of domestic LPG cylinders for commercial purpose by certain elements to a "wide gap between their prices".

He underlined the need to minimise this gap to check such irregularities.

The minister felicitated a retired driver and a retired teacher for giving up the LPG subsidy.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)