Govt to leverage electricity as cooking fuel in a big way: Power Minister

?Electricity is the future of India and most of its infrastructure will be powered by electricity. The government has envisaged a power foundation to be formed at the ministry?s level and its objectives include cooking to completely run on electricity, which will allow our economy to be self-reliant and give us independence from imports. This government is for the poor and this move will help the poor strata of the society by giving them access to a cheaper medium of cooking,? said Singh.

The power minister rolled out the vision for the government while inaugurating a service building at Nabinagar Power Generating Company Ltd (NPGCL), Nabinagar (Bihar), a shopping complex developed by India?s largest energy conglomerate NTPC for the people of Barh and the main plant canteen inside NTPC Barauni for convenience of employees. The minister added that the delivery of various other pro-poor measures like PM Awas Yojna and Har Ghar Bijlee was accelerated during the lockdown by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Singh also praised the various initiatives of NTPC that show the power producer?s unflinching commitment to the nation and its economic growth.

?In the past years, work done by NTPC has been acknowledged across the country. The NTPC family is recognised for its professionalism and efficiency and has set an example for not just the state of Bihar but also for the country. Questions have always been raised on the performance of PSUs, but looking at the performance of NTPC and other Power PSUs, it is clear that they are even better than the private players and have consistently made progress and profit.?

Singh further said, ?The expansion of NTPC will continue and it will keep setting benchmarks in professionalism, efficiency and being an ideal employer.?

He lauded the work done by NTPC for ensuring round the clock power supply during the nationwide lockdown. He added that fixed charges for distribution companies were deferred and a rebate on cost was also given to states by India?s largest power producer during the lockdown period. He pointed out that that it is because of NTPC?s professional conduct and commitment to the nation that the ?cream of the country? from the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the National Institutes of Technology (NITs) wanted to work for it.

Speaking at the event, Gurdeep Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, NTPC said, ?During the lockdown phase, NTPC ensured that not just the employees, but even the contract labourers were paid on time through the professionally managed system of the company along with food, shelter and medical facilities. We also ensured that the country received an uninterrupted power supply during the lockdown phase.?

He also added, ?NTPC had 3800 MW of project under construction in Bihar and will keep on contributing to the progress of the state.?

The inauguration ceremony was graced by senior officials from the Ministry of Power, Bihar administration, directors and officials of NTPC.