| |DECEMBER 20199This way we see that GGSY draws its context from climate change, energy access, self-sufficiency in energy, adoption of clean and green energy and global harmony, finally marking the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.I commenced this Yatra from Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmed-abad on December 25, 2018, traversing successfully through five continents, 30 countries, 30 cities with travel travail of 1,50,000 km, which finally culminated on August 15, 2019, at Sabarma-ti Ashram, Ahmedabad. The day also marked the announce-ment of founding of Energy Swaraj Foundation in the august presence of Dr. Anil Kakodkar, Former Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission.To mark the occasion, the Students Solar Ambassador Work-shop has been organized on 2nd October 2019 in New Delhi, wherein more than 1 Million students will receive hands-on training in the Solar lamp assembly. Here, many national and international schools, colleges, institutions, organisations are enthusiastically participating to spread the message to the world ­ Way forward is Solar, by assembling and lighting a million lamps together. The yatra is aimed at sensitisation towards the dire conse-quence of climate change, skill development for millions of stu-dents across the world and awareness about off-grid Solar solu-tions for complete, cost-effective and reliable energy solutions like Solar energy. Travelling around the world as a part of Gandhi Global Solar Yatra was an incredible experience. Seeing the world in one go, having the opportunity to look at the entire spectrum of the world, developed countries, developing countries and under-developed countries in the same time frame was quite an experience. The yatra has created a deep impact on whosoever it touched, based on the experiences, some invaluable conclusions can be drawn which will have a long-lasting impact on the prevalent scenario. In spite of so much damage happening all around us, we are just not bothered to take any concrete action to mitigate climate change, curb pollution, plant trees, not cutting the forests, dump-ing garbage properly so that planet remains inhabitable for gen-erations to come. This is the scenario world over; we are running our lives as usual with rampant usage of fossil fuels which are the major reason for climate change. The world needs to switch towards green energy sources and utilize energy efficiently for sustainability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Renewable energy technology-based solutions to-day, particularly Solar due to advancement in technologies and reduction in cost, can be utilized to meet the complete 24x7 ener-gy needs locally and sustainably. The approach of generation and consumption of energy to fulfil our requirements needs a relook.In this context, Energy Swaraj is proposed based on the Gand-hian principle of "not mass production but production by the mass-es" is required to be applied in the field of energy for energy sus-tainability to address United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Local people can be trained to own, manage, and operate Solar enterprises at every level including assembly, sale, after-sales service, and manufacturing.Therefore, the idea of Energy Swaraj is much more relevant and required. The Gandhi Global Solar Yatra is promoting the message of Energy Swaraj. During this yatra, the principles of self-governance, self-reliance, non-violence, decentralized insti-tutions, etc. are being discussed.Probably, Gandhiji's Dandi Yatra inspired me, which proved a milestone in India's freedom struggle. Maybe my Gandhi Global Solar Yatra proves a milestone for people of this world, who may attain energy independence, Energy Swaraj and save the planet from the drastic calamity of climate change. Who knows? The world needs to switch towards green energy sources and utilize energy efficiently for sustainability to breduce greenhouse gas emissions
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