New Delhi: Minister of Petroleum & Natural and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan attended the 'ONGC Solar Chulha Challenge' exhibition. The challenge is aimed at developing cost effective and efficient solar power stove systems in line with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to touch poor lives by providing them safe and low cost alternatives for clean household cooking.
This is the first-of-its-kind initiative taken up by any corporate to promote solar chulha in order to reach out to the last mile of the society. ONGC CMD Shashi Shanker steered the initiative to realise the vision of Prime Minister to make clean cooking alternatives available to the commonest of common citizens of the country.
Five finalist teams of the ONGC Solar Chulha Challenge, representing both academia as well as industry, displayed their functional solar chulha prototypes in the exhibition.
Pradhan visited the stall and interacted with the participants to understand the technology and showed keen interest in the innovations that the participants exhibited.
After the visit, the minister held a detailed review of the initiative to transform it into a nation-wide movement. "Efforts should be made to improvise the technology further and make it available at affordable cost", he said.
He emphasized to develop integrated solar systems which can provide multi-purpose utility. Pradhan also felicitated the winners of the Solar Chulha Challenge.
The ONGC Solar Chulha challenge had received an overwhelming response with over 1500 applications.
To promote this national endeavour, ONGC may also provide monetary support to manufacture about 1000 units and further procure these 1000 units for demonstration in different regions across the nation, through its Rs 100 crore ONGC Startup Fund that is aimed at fostering, nurturing and incubating new ideas related to the energy sector.