Chennai: Transport is largest sector of oil consumption – and this is the sector where most of the youth are directly involved. Many members of young generation are either college/university students or office-goers. They own individual two-wheeler or four-wheelers to reach their destinations. This is an area where they can reduce their individual consumptions, said Governor Banwarilal Purohit.
Inaugurating SAKSHAM 2020 organised by Petroleum Conservation Research Association along with Oil Marketing Companies under Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas here Tuesday, he appealed working class to use share-carriages like buses, pool-cars and preferably the greener ones such as trains and metros. “This will not only promote oil conservation but also reduce the problems like air pollution and traffic congestion in metropolitan cities. Saving oil will be your big contribution in building a strong India,” he said.
SAKSHAM 2020 is to create focus on fuel conservation through people centric activities and to sensitise the masses about the conservation and efficient use of petroleum products leading to better health and environment.
India is the third largest consumer of petroleum products in the world. With the increasing economic progress of the country coupled with rising income level and increasing population, we will become the fourth largest economy in terms of GDP by 2022 and meeting the ever-increasing demand of petroleum products for the nation will become increasingly challenging, the Governor said.
As Government of India is targeting all actions towards becoming a 5 trillion-dollar economy in near future, India’s energy needs and fuel requirements are also rapidly expanding and evolving. “I consider the conservation of natural resources and sustainable development as one of the most important aspects of this evolution and it is an opportunity for us to contribute in this nation building process, because – each drop of oil conserved is equal to a drop of oil produced. This noble thought should resonate in all our actions in day-to-day life to achieve meaningful contribution towards petroleum conservation,” he said.
The government is stressing and supporting in exploring new alternatives to oil. Sustainable development is one importance initiative taken by many organisations. New alternatives could be exploring renewable sources like solar, wind, tidal, nuclear and geothermal energies or use of non-conventional sources such as biogas and biofuels, the Governor said.
IndianOil executive director and State head P Jayadevan, executive director (Regional Services) Arup Sinha and HPCL general manager (South Zone) V S Chakravarthi, PCRA director (Southern Regional Office) S P Selvam, GAIL chief zonal general manager M K Biwas and BPCL head (retail south) Inderjit Singh and other dignitaries participated.