President Inaugurates the National Conference on Green Design

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the fourth GRIHA National Conference on Green Design at a function at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi today (February 14, 2013).

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that the continuing increase in the Indian population and growth of the Indian economy, along with rapid urbanization has led to an enormous demand for buildings. This in turn is leading to a huge increase in demand for electricity in new and existing buildings. To achieve sustainability, the policy makers at all levels need to address the environmental pressures due to increased demand for resources, and a rapidly changing climate, he said. Several policy and regulatory mechanisms have been devised to address the urban challenges, and are being implemented through national plans and programmes. However, much more needs to be done in this regard, he added.

The President congratulated The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India on the development and implementation of GRIHA- the indigenous green building rating system of India. He also congratulated the recipients of the GRIHA awards for demonstrating environmental responsiveness, energy efficiency and for making significant efforts to adopt renewable energy integration in their respective buildings and expressed hope that others would emulate and benefit from the examples set through these buildings.

This release issued at 1330 hrs