India's LED light programme shows its self-sufficiency: UN envoy
By Kushagra Dixit, Indo-Asian News Service

New Delhi, 5 Oct (IANS) Appreciating the Indian government's programme to replace about 77 crore incandescent bulbs with energy-efficient LED bulbs by 2019, UN envoy Rachel Kyte on Wednesday said clean energy makes the electricity cheaper.

"Price of power had dropped by 70 per cent with clean energy if you see the emerging trends. Renewable energy is a way to cheaper energy instead of being costly as often claimed," Rachel Kyte, Special Representative to the United Nations Secretary-General for sustainable energy, told IANS.

She spoke here on the sidelines of the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) organised here by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).

On being asked if India would need assistance to subsidise the energy, she said that India is already self-sufficient, citing the example of LED light programme.

"The developed world would continue to offer support to the developing world but India is already doing great. For its LED light programme, not a cent of foreign fund was invested," she said.

"In Paris, we decided that we'll not leave anyone behind," she added.

Speaking of the cost of electricity, Rachel who is also the CEO of Sustainable Energy for All, said that it all depends upon the policies.

"There are plenty of examples of cheap energy. It really is the matter of management and recognition by the governments," she said on being asked if the renewable energy is cheap enough that it would not require any subsidy.