Provided free food grain ration to 80 crore Indians during the COVID pandemic
Minister of Railways, Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, and Food & Public Distribution Piyush Goyal said that India has provided free food grain ration to 80 crore Indians during the COVID pandemic. During his speech at the UN Trade Forum 2021, Goyal said, “Because of the public procurement programmes, we can provide such support to such a large number of people to ensure nobody dies of hunger.
India’s per-capita CO2 emission is the lowest amongst big economies. He said, “In India, we are still doing our part, and our ambitious renewable energy target of 450 Gigawatts by 2030 shows our commitment towards the United Nations 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals.”
He said that there is no doubt about all of us being very concerned and we will work with renewed thrust in the post-COVID world to achieve our climate goals.
The Minister said that India has taken many bold steps on clean energy, energy efficiency, afforestation and bio-diversity, and that is why India is among the few countries whose NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions) are 2-degree-Celsius compatible. “We have also encouraged global initiatives like International Solar Alliance and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.”
Goyal said the UN and UNFCC should focus on getting the world together to fulfil their commitments around climate change. Issues relating to climate change need to be discussed under the UNFCCC Framework and the Paris Agreement, and not as part of trade negotiations. Trade Agreements are not the first best option to achieve these goals.
