The government is betting big on solar energy and planning to kickstart a mega research and development (R&D) initiative .

?We have finalised a solar energy mission. It?s ambitious in scope and has a very strong R&D component to give a punch to the promotion of solar energy,? said Shyam Saran, the Prime Minister?s special envoy on climate change. He was speaking at a meeting on India?s Climate Responsive Roadmap for Development, which was organised by OneWorld India Foundation in New Delhi last week.

Stressing on how keen India is to address the climate change challenge, Saran said, ?Those who think India is not serious about the issue of climate change are completely off the mark.?

He added, ?India has consistently been doing a great deal on climate change and would do whatever it could, taking into account the fact that economic and social development and poverty reduction are also the overriding priorities for the country. We will do whatever we can within the limitations of our resources.?

Saran also enumerated the government?s efforts in bringing about a gradual shift from the reliance on fossil fuels to renewables. He underlined that the country has been one of the best performers in terms of energy efficiency. It?s reflected by the fact that over the years, while India has been growing at 8-9%, the energy use has been growing at less than 4% per year.

Discussing in detail the government?s plans, Deepak Gupta, secretary, ministry of new and renewable energy, said, ?We are preparing a solar mission through which we plan to set ambitious targets for grid and off-grid generation of solar power. We are also trying to maximise the harnessing of hydro, biomass and wind power.?

Gupta also urged the industry to ?innovate, manufacture and operate under a new paradigm with emphasis on conservation and energy-efficiency and embrace environment-friendly energy resources instead of continuing with the existing fossil fuel-based resources.? He also expressed the hope that India would be in a position to deliver ?almost 10% of the energy mix from renewable sources by 2020.?

The day-long consultative dialogue on climate responsive development sought to have a multi-stakeholder dialogue between members representing various strata of the society?civil society, business, academia, media and the government. ?The idea behind such a dialogue,? according to Naimur Rahman, director, OneWorld Foundation India, ?is to stress upon the government to adopt a more people-centric approach in dealing with the challenges of climate change?both at the national and international negotiations.?

Earlier, various interactive sessions organised at the meet saw experts argue in favour of spreading awareness to combat climate change as a necessity and not as an option.

Another consensus that emerged was that since the climate change system is in a state of inertia, it is essential that we try to limit the impact of climate change right away. Timely preventive action alone will ensure that the changes in climate, so rampant today, can be controlled before it is too late.

The event also witnessed the unveiling of Bhoogyan-Integrated Knowledge System on Climate Change Adaptation, an ICT-based knowledge delivery system to help the poor in adapting to changing climate. The project aims to link grassroots communities, development practitioners, academia and policymakers to help them forge partnerships with the government, domain experts and community-based organisations.