Akshay Urja diwas is an awareness campaign about the developments of renewable energy in India, celebrated on August 20 every year since 2004. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy initiated Akshay Urja Day (Diwas) in 2004. The first function was organised at

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

in 2004 and 2005 followed by

Nagpur Nagpur (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nag ...

in 2006,

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

in 2007 and Panchkula in 2008. The day commemorates the birthday of former prime minister

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to beco ...

. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy promotes innovation to adopt

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

sources to produce power for the electricity grid and for several standalone applications and decentralised power production. The energy such as Biogas,

Solar Energy Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an essenti ...

, Wind energy,

hydroelectrical power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

are few example of Akshay Urja. The main motive o
Akshya urja Diwas
ref name="Akshya Urja"> is to make people aware that they have to think about the renewable energy (Akshya Urja) apart from traditional energy.

Inaugural event

At the first Akshay Urja Diwas in 2004 a commemorative stamp was released by the Prime Minister. A human chain of nearly 12,000 school children was formed in the national capital to promote a renewable future.

Supporting organizations

* Indian Biogas Association

References

{{Reflist Awareness days Renewable energy in India August observances