Never in world's history: Australian PM cheers PM Modi's energy access feat
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for expanding energy access in India on a scale that he said has never been matched in any decade, country or region in human history.
"To give Prime Minister Modi credit, more people have been connected with access to energy in India under his reign than has occurred in any decade in any country or any region in human history," the Australian PM said while speaking about his relationship with PM Modi during an interaction in New York.
The comment was made in the context of India's expansion of household access to electricity, cooking fuel and renewable energy.
Albanese made the remarks on September 24 while speaking to former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd at an Asia Policy Institute event in New York, held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, more than 10.57 crore LPG connections had been provided to women from poor households by May 2026. The Saubhagya scheme, launched in 2017, provided electricity connections to around 2.86 crore households by March 2022, according to government data.
India has also rapidly expanded decentralised solar power. The PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana crossed 50 lakh beneficiary households in August 2026.
Meanwhile, under PM-KUSUM scheme, more than 21.77 lakh farmers had benefited as of December 2025, through measures including solar agricultural pumps and decentralised solar power.
In his remarks during the 45-minute conversation, the 63-year-old Albanese also said that "India would become the world's third-largest economy and already had the world's largest population."
India has been navigating major global energy disruptions while trying to keep supplies flowing to its population of more than 140 crore. Over the past decade, India has also diversified its energy import sources from 27 countries to 41, a strategy the government says has helped reduce dependence on any single region. It is also important to note that, amid major global disruptions, India has performed well.
During the crisis, India also continued efforts to maintain petrol, diesel and LPG availability. The India-Australia relationship also became relevant to this energy-security effort from New Delhi.
India and Australia have described energy security as an area for deeper cooperation, particularly amid disruptions to energy and commodity supply chains caused by the West Asia crisis.
Australia has also supplied LNG to India when supplies from Gulf producers were constrained.A LOT MORE CAN BE DONE, SAYS AUSTRALIA'S PRIME MINISTER
Australian PM Albanese said the India-Australia relationship had "gone from strength to strength", while arguing that much more could be achieved economically.
"I think there's a lot more that can be done in our economic partnership," he said, noting that he had visited India twice as prime minister and Modi had visited Australia twice.
He also recalled the reception PM Modi recently received at a stadium event in Melbourne.
"If you think a Republican or Democrat convention is full of adulation for whoever the leaders are at any particular time, you haven't seen anything till you've seen a Narendra Modi stadium [Ahmedabad] event," Albanese said.
He recalled PM Modi asking the crowd to cheer for him, saying it resulted in a chant involving about 40,000 Australians.
Albanese said he would travel to Mumbai after the scheduled G20 being hosted by the US in December for a business-focused "Good Day Namaste" event, which would conclude with a cricket match in Chennai.
For Albanese, however, the broader India relationship extends beyond politics and sport. He pointed to the two countries' Commonwealth links, English-language ties and expanding university connections.
"There's a lot more we can do though," he said. "It has been under utilised, the relationship and partnership, but both PM Modi and myself are very keen on rectifying that."- Ends(Written by Avinash Kateel)
