Dharmendra Pradhan: Make in India and Make in America complementary

Dharmendra Pradhan held talks with top city officials and energy experts, including former US Secretary of Energy and now a professor at MIT Ernest Moniz and Professor Henry Lee at Harvard.

Boston, March 5: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'Make In India' and US President Donald Trump's emphasis on 'Make in America' are not contradictory, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan has said.

Pradhan, who was on a two-day visit to the city, made the remarks while underscoring India's focus on creating "a new energy story" using world class technology and cutting-edge innovation. Prime Minister Modi's vision of 'Make in India and Trump's 'Make in America' are not contradictory, he said.

"If we use American technology and innovation in India's market, then it is not necessary that all components will be made in America. If American technology needs business, then they will have to come to India. We need a good business model and technology in our market. These are not contradictory," Pradhan told PTI in an interview here.

During his stay, Pradhan delivered the keynote address at the 2017 MIT Energy Conference and addressed students at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He held talks with top city officials and energy experts, including former US Secretary of Energy and now a professor at MIT Ernest Moniz and Professor Henry Lee at Harvard.

Pradhan said energy accessibility and affordability is the Modi government's primary priority. "We have to give clean energy to all our citizens. Our energy basket predominantly has coal but gas and renewables will also be part of our energy mix in future," he said. He also emphasized that India's goal to produce 175 GW renewable energy by 2022 and to ensure energy security requires delivering energy to a large mass of population in a short span, for which self-sufficiency will be critical.

"We will need to increase our production. All this we will be able to accomplish when we have technology. Institutions like MIT and Harvard are natural points of innovation and new ideas. We are here to see how we can link this to our market, how we can bring the concept of energy justice as a deliverable," he said.

During his interaction with students, Pradhan said they talked about energy as a commodity and how to make it into a business model that can be replicated across developing nations that have to fulfill energy requirements for its citizens.

On the government's demonetisation move, he said despite attempts at generating a "fear psychosis", economic growth has been on track and will improve in the months ahead as a vast majority of the Indian population has supported the government's move to combat corruption and black money.

He also attended a reception hosted for him by the Indian community in the greater Boston area, where he lauded the achievements of the Indian diaspora. He called on the Indian community to contribute to the technological advancement of India.

"We need technology, innovation, good business models and processes to take our country to the next level of growth. As the world today becomes a global village, we need the support of the Indian diaspora to realise this dream for our country," he added.

PTI