On February 15, 2024, a delegation of 25 highly motivated women professionals from the Indian power sector visited the Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy, Shri R. K. Singh, in New Delhi. This visit was part of the WePOWER SAR100 program, which aims to train 100 women professionals from the Southeast Asian Region in the energy sector.
Among the participants, 25 women were from Bangladesh, 15 from Sri Lanka, 15 from Pakistan, 10 from Maldives, and 32 were from various parts of India. Most of them held positions in central or state government power sector Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), regulatory commissions, or energy departments.
Speaking about the sector, the Minister said, “The power sector is very exciting and fast-evolving, the old sector giving way to a new one. The sector will change, with more individual generation, more renewable energy, less fossil fuels, and different forms of energy storage.”
“We see consumers becoming prosumers. If nuclear becomes safer and cheaper, then that might become the predominant form of energy”, the minister added.
The minister further said, “If fusion becomes successful, then we will have a vast storehouse of energy, which could bring down energy costs further.”
The meeting was attended by Secretary of Ministry of Power, Shri Pankaj Agarwal; Director General of National Power Training Institute (NPTI), Dr. Tripta Thakur; Principal Director of NPTI, Dr. Manju Mom; WePower World Bank Partnership Coordinator, Ms. Tanushree Bhowmik; as well as Chief Managing Directors (CMDs) of power sector PSUs.
This initiative demonstrates the commitment towards empowering women professionals in the energy sector and fostering collaboration among Southeast Asian countries in this field.
The trainees said that the programme also enabled them to learn some of the best practices being adopted in the power sector in various countries and also come to a better realization of their own latent potential.
The Minister complimented the women professionals and observed that the interaction with them shows that the programme has been a success.
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