Former IAS officer turned bureaucrat politician R.K. Singh has returned as the Union Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) under team Modi 2.0.

He emphasized that the focus of this term would be to provide round the clock power in a consistent and economically sustainable manner to everyone, as envisioned by the previous Modi government.

In a media interaction, Singh said that his priorities would be to ensure quality, reliability, and affordability of power. He further said that “We will overcome the challenges and would maintain the pace of growth in the power sector.”

He also mentioned key priorities, such as improving India’s energy mix and working on the challenges faced by the renewable energy sector.

He will also look after the additional portfolio of Minister of State (MoS) Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in the new cabinet.

Singh is currently a Lok Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) from Arrah constituency in Bihar. In 2014, he was elected as Lok Sabha MP from the same seat.

Singh was the Union Minister of State for Power and New and Renewable Energy in the previous cabinet since September 2017 after replacing Mr. Piyush Goyal. The household electrification program, SAUBHAGYA, was launched under his leadership. As per records, around 26.3 million families were provided electrification under this program pegged at a project cost of ₹1,632 million ($23.54). Mercom has reported consistently on the progress made by the government under SAUBHAGYA universal electrification program.

Recently, Mercom talked to various stakeholders after the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) came back into power for a second term under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The industry’s popular sentiment is buoyant with the return of BJP as it implies that the policies and other developmental works underway in the sector would carry on seamlessly.

Image credit: PIB

Soumik is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Prior to joining Mercom, Soumik was a correspondent for UNI, New Delhi covering the Northeast region for seven years. He has also worked as an Asia Correspondent for Washington DC-based Hundred Reporters. He has contributed as a freelancer to several national and international digital publications with a focus on data-based investigative stories on environmental corruption, hydro power projects, energy transition and the circular economy. Soumik is an Economics graduate from Scottish Church College, Calcutta University.