24th Darbari Seth Memorial Lecture: Gadkari Says Hydrogen at $1/kg Can Make India an Energy Exporter
New Delhi, August 20, 2025: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) hosted the 24th Darbari Seth Memorial Lecture in New Delhi today, themed ‘Green Infrastructure: Building a Sustainable Transport Future for India.’ As India advances its National Electric Mobility Mission and sustainable transport agenda, the institution strives to provide policy insights and solutions for green infrastructure development.
Memorial lecture honours Shri Darbari Seth’s vision, spotlighting green transport and solar-driven growth
Instituted in 2002, the lecture series commemorates Mr Darbari S Seth, TERI’s visionary founder and pioneering technocrat-industrialist, whose leadership positioned TERI among the world’s foremost think tanks on sustainability and climate action. Over the years, it has featured eminent global leaders including Mr António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations; N R Narayana Murthy; Sam Pitroda; Anand G Mahindra; Mukesh D Ambani; Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw; Arvind Subramanian; and Dr Fatih Birol.
The 24th Darbari Seth Memorial Lecture was delivered by Mr Ashish Khanna, Director General, International Solar Alliance (ISA), and presided over by Shri Nitin Gadkari, Hon’ble Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India.
Reflecting on Shri Darbari Seth’s legacy and the institute’s origins during the oil crisis of the 1970s, Mr Nitin Desai, Chairman, TERI said, “Shri Darbari Seth’s farsighted response to the oil crisis laid the foundation for TERI. Looking at issues from a long-term perspective which addresses the root of the problem has stayed with the institute. TERI continues to focus on challenges through technology, policies, and other innovative measures.”
Mr Ashish Khanna, Director General, International Solar Alliance (ISA) underlined India’s leadership in sustainable mobility and solar-driven infrastructure as pathways to a low-carbon economy. “It is a singular honour to deliver the 24th Darbari Seth Memorial Lecture, held in memory of a true visionary, Mr Darbari Seth, whose vision for private sector innovation and sustainability continues to inspire generations. I am also privileged to share this platform with Shri Nitin Gadkari, Hon’ble Minister of Road Transport and Highways, whose leadership in advancing sustainable infrastructure is shaping India’s journey towards a greener and more resilient future. India’s innovation, institutions, and implementation capability are shaping sustainable infrastructure that can serve as replicable models for the Global South,” he emphasized.
In his Presidential Address, Shri Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, stressed the centrality of rural empowerment and sustainable models in India’s energy future. “True progress lies in making our villages stronger than our cities. With 80 per cent of people still connected to agriculture, we must diversify farming towards energy and power, invest in water conservation, and harness technologies like AI for rural prosperity. Jal, jameen, and jungle must remain the pillars of our growth model. Ethics, economy, ecology, and environment must move together—only then can development generate employment, alleviate poverty, and inspire pride and self-reliance.” Highlighting India’s leadership in renewable energy, Shri Gadkari added, “Solar energy is the Sanjeevani Booti for our planet. And hydrogen is the fuel of the future. I drive a Toyota Mirai, which itself means ‘future’ in Japanese, because I believe hydrogen will transform mobility and energy. Today, hydrogen costs around 5 dollars per kilogram. If India can bring this down to 1 dollar per kilogram, we won’t just achieve energy independence, we can become a global exporter of clean energy.”
Concluding the event, Dr Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI, paid tribute to the institute’s founder and said, “The legacy of our Founder is not a monument of the past, but a compass for the future. It reminds us that the path for progress must be lit by the light of sustainability, guided by inclusivity, and strengthened by innovation.”
The programme also featured the felicitation of winners of the ‘TERI Roll of Honour’, the launch of Your City, Your Impact: Green Buildings for Sustainable Living by Dr Priyanka Kochhar, and recognition of TERI colleagues completing 10, 20, and 30 years of service.
Watch the proceedings here: https://youtu.be/J2MWnvNqZKo