Business Line cited Mr Gireesh B Pardhan secretary of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy as saying that India would take its new and renewable capacities to 54000 MW by 2017, the terminal year of the 12th Five Year Plan.
Currently, the country has around 27,000 MW of renewable energy capacity.
Mr Pardhan at an industry event organized by FICCI said that India produced solar energy at an average tariff of INR 18 a unit in 2009, which now stands at INR 7.40 per unit.
He said that "This fall in tariff for solar energy witnessed in such a short period has encouraged policy makers to explore greater possibilities to harness solar energy at a faster pace."
At the same time, India is not in favour of a proposal for setting up of a SAARC Regional Grid to cement energy cooperation among the member nations.
He added that these countries should strive to build blocs for bilateral cooperation with the adoption of a bottom up approach rather than seeking to establish a SAARC regional grid which seemed impractical.
Mr Vikramjit Singh Sahney President of the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that the member nations should identify commodities of common interest and begin to enhance their trade for mutual benefit.
Mr Sahney said that the ongoing move on the Turkmenistan to Afghanistan to Pakistan to India gas pipeline could be a model for public private partnerships in mega infrastructure projects in the SAARC region.
