Akshay Urja Diwas, also known as the Renewable Energy Day, is held every year on August 20 to increase public awareness of the recent progress in India’s use of renewable energy.
The late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's birth anniversary is also celebrated on this day. The Akshay Urja Diwas, which strives to raise public awareness about the usage of natural resources including hydropower, solar energy, wind energy, and biogas, becomes important to observe since the earth's resources continue to diminish at an alarming rate every day.
Greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels and air pollution have always been a rising concern which makes it really important to aware people on the importance of the usage of renewable energy. It's high time we stop using traditional sources of energy and adopt renewable energy and reduce our dependence on imported fuels.
Akshay Urja Diwas 2022: Origin
The Akshay Urja Diwas has been celebrated every year on August 20 since 2004. The main goal of this day is to support renewable energy development programs and promote their usage instead of using traditional sources of energy.
The first event conducted on 2004 and 2005 was planned in New Delhi followed by Nagpur in 2006, Hyderabad in 2007, and Panchkula in 2008. Since then, it has been celebrated as a day to spread awareness about natural sources and how one must avoid using fossil fuels.
In order to encourage the general public to adopt effective and environmentally friendly energy sources, the then-prime minister, Manmohan Singh, released a commemorative stamp featuring 12,000 schoolchildren forming a human chain.
Why we must switch to Renewable Energy?
Looking at the current scenario, consistent usage of traditional sources of energy throughout the globe has been negatively affecting our environment. Not to mention, the present rate of continuous emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases is so high that more than expected damage and changes to the environment are predictable.
The primary gases in the Earth's atmosphere—carbon dioxide and the other non-condensing greenhouse gases—maintain the greenhouse effect and regulate its strength. Although water vapor is a quick-acting reaction, the radiative forcing provided by the non-condensing greenhouse gases regulates the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere.
Global warming and climate change are the outcomes of this. This has numerous negative effects on our ecosystem, which are not just limited to rising temperatures. Other issues brought on by climate change include shifting wildlife populations, extreme weather events, and sea level rise.
“Renewable & Traditional Energy Should go Hand-in-Hand”
Ankit Sonaria, a mechanical engineering student who is specializing in jet propulsion and gas turbine plant, said, “We can’t completely rely on renewable resources as it's not yet accessible to us 24 hours. That’s why renewable and traditional sources of energy should go hand-in-hand. Renewable sources of energy should be used as energy security.”
