Global policymakers, innovators gather in New Delhi for India Energy Week

Special Global policymakers, innovators gather in New Delhi for India Energy Week
India Energy Week participants arrive at the event’s venue, the Yashobhoomi convention center in New Delhi, Feb. 11, 2025. (AN Photo)
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Updated 11 February 2025

Global policymakers, innovators gather in New Delhi for India Energy Week

Global policymakers, innovators gather in New Delhi for India Energy Week
  • Thousands of top industry leaders participate in Indian government’s flagship energy event
  • India’s main focus in the energy sector is local production and supply chains, PM Modi says

NEW DELHI: Thousands of top industry executives, innovators and policymakers gathered in New Delhi on Tuesday for India Energy Week 2025, where they will be discussing energy access and sustainability.

More than 70,000 delegates, officials and visitors are expected to take part in the Indian government’s flagship annual energy event, which over the next four days will feature 500 speakers, 700 exhibitors and 10 national pavilions from countries including the US, the UK, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia displaying their newest technology.

Held at the Yashobhoomi convention center in New Delhi, India Energy Week 2025 aims to spotlight energy access, security and new global energy systems, in line with the South Asian giant’s vision of energy transition.

“India’s energy ambitions stand on five pillars: We have resources, which we are harnessing. Secondly, we are encouraging our brilliant minds to innovate. Thirdly, we have economic strength, political stability. Fourthly, India has strategic geography, which makes energy trade more attractive and easier. And fifthly, India is committed to global sustainability. This is creating new possibilities in India’s energy sector,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a virtual address to the event’s participants.

“The next two decades are very important for India’s development. And in the next five years, we are going to cross many big milestones. Many of our energy goals are aligned with the 2030 deadline. We want to add 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030. Indian Railways has set a target of net zero carbon emissions by 2030. Our goal is to produce 5 million metric tons of green hydrogen every year by 2030 ... What India has achieved in the last 10 years has given us the confidence that we will definitely achieve these targets.”

India aims to generate 500 GW of electricity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030, under its nationally determined contributions to the Paris Agreement. Solar energy is the dominant contributor to its renewable energy growth, accounting for 47 percent of the total installed renewable energy capacity.

The solar power sector has observed a 3,450 percent increase in capacity over the past decade, rising from 2.82 GW in 2014 to 100 GW in January 2025, according to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

The growth is fueled by local solar module production, which in 2014 had a capacity of only 2 GW.

“There is a lot of potential in India for manufacturing various types of hardware including PV modules. We are supporting local manufacturing,” Modi said. “India’s major focus is on Make in India and local supply chains.”

Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, who opened the India Energy Week, urged participants to help chart a roadmap to stabilize energy markets and strengthen international cooperation.

“I am pleased that the event will see participation from more than 20 energy and other ministers, including deputies, from important stakeholders such as Qatar, UK, Russia, Brazil, Tanzania and Venezuela,” he said.

“⁠It is our fervent hope that the India Energy Week becomes the definitive platform for shaping the energy agenda of the future. This is where transformative partnerships shall take shape, where game-changing technologies are unveiled, and the future of energy is written.”


Observation mission says Tanzanian election did not comply with AU standards

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Observation mission says Tanzanian election did not comply with AU standards

Observation mission says Tanzanian election did not comply with AU standards
  • President Samia Suluhu Hassan won the October 29 poll with 98 percent of the vote 
  • The opposition, which was barred from participating, branded the election a “sham”

NAIROBI, Kenya: African Union election observers said late Wednesday that the integrity of Tanzania’s recently concluded elections was “compromised,” citing incidents of “ballot stuffing at several polling stations.”
President Samia Suluhu Hassan won the October 29 poll with 98 percent of the vote, according to the electoral commission, but the opposition, which was barred from participating, branded the election a “sham.”
Violent protests broke out across the country on election day.
The government responded with a total Internet blackout and transport shutdown, and the opposition says hundreds were killed by security forces, though getting verified information remains difficult despite an easing of restrictions.

The AU Election Observation Mission said its observers witnessed voters being issued multiple ballots, with some allowed to cast their votes without their identities being verified against the registry.
“The 2025 Tanzania General Elections did not comply with AU principles, normative frameworks, and other international obligations and standards for democratic elections,” reads the initial report from the AU mission.
The mission said its observers were restricted from monitoring the vote count, noting that this “limited transparency.”
It added that in some polling stations observers “were asked to only observe voting for five minutes.”
The report also noted violent protests, gunfire, road closures, and tire burning in areas such as Dar es Salaam, Mbeya, Mwanza, Kagera, Dodoma, Kigoma, Tebora, Buhungwa, Singinda, among others.
The AU urged Tanzania to “prioritize electoral and political reforms to address the root causes of its democratic and electoral challenges.”
On Monday, African poll observers released an initial report saying Tanzanians had been unable to “express their democratic will” due to the barring of opposition candidates, censorship and intimidation, as well as signs of rigging on election day.