Menon said: “At a projected growth rate of 8 per cent a year through 2031-32, the minimum necessary to eradicate poverty, India needs to increase its primary energy supply by 3 to 4 times, and its electricity generation capacity by 5 to 6 times current levels”.

The Foreign Secretary pointed out that average consumption of electricity per capita each year in India is currently only 550 kwH against a global average of 2430 kwH. The US average for the same is 13070 kwH and a Chinese figure is 1380 kwH.

To meet the twin challenges of energy security and climate change, India and the EU have an Energy Panel, which focuses on collaboration in clean coal technologies, nuclear energy, energy efficiency and the petroleum sector, the Foreign Secretary said.

Reiterating India’s commitment for complete disarmament, Menon said India’s status as a Nuclear Weapon State does not diminish its commitment to the objective of a nuclear weapon free world.

“Aspiring for a non-violent world order, through global, verifiable and non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament continues to be an important plank of our nuclear policy that is characterized by restraint, responsibility, transparency, predictability and a defensive orientation”, he said.

Calling for a new consensus on non-proliferation, he said India is ready to engage in negotiations in a non-discriminatory Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty.