Mumbai, July 16: Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said that Indian Railways will move to 100 per cent electrification in next 3 and half years. He also claimed that Indian Railways will become a 100 per cent 'Net Zero' operator in the next 9-10 years.

Speaking at the Confederation of Indian Industry's virtual event, the Union Railways Minister said, as quoted by news agency ANI, "Railways will move to 100% electrification in next 3.5 yrs & 100% 'Net Zero' operator in next 9-10 yrs. By 2030, each one of us will be a proud citizen, owning the world's first large 'Clean Railways'." CCTV Monitoring, Powerless Water Coolers on Trains Soon as Indian Railways to Launch 20 In-house Innovations.

Apart from this, Goyal also spoke about India's role in transition into the international solar grid. He said, "PM (Narendra Modi) has promoted 'One Sun, One World, One Grid'. India is taking a lead role in the International Renewable Community. Transitioning into an international solar grid is something we are all working on. With PM-KUSUM Yojana we are bringing farmers too in renewable energy fold."

Here's what Piyush Goyal said at CII event:

Earlier in July, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Asia’s largest solar plant in Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa. He dedicated the 750-megawatt solar power plant to the nation through video conferencing, stating that it will help the entire world as a secure foundation for a clean environment.

According to a report, published in the Hindustan Times, Indian Railways has fixed a target of electrification of 7,000 RKM for the year 2020-21. As per the report, electrification of more than 40,000 Route kilometre (RKM) has been completed, out of which 18,605 km electrification work has been done during 2014-20.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 16, 2020 12:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).