The aim was to accelerate the transition to electric cooking in India, improving access to clean cooking and safe cooking fuels.
The Modern Energy Cooking Forum 2024 was held in New Delhi in September 2024. The theme of the forum is “Accelerating Progress in Transition to eCooking”. The Modern Energy Cooking Forum is part of the Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS) initiative, which was launched in India in late 2019 through its in-country partner, India Finovista. Funded by the UK Aid of the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) and led by Loughborough University, MECS Programme aims to improve access to clean and safe cooking fuels and technologies for all by 2030, as defined in SDG 7.
The discussions at Modern Energy Cooking Forum 2024 will focus on promoting electric cooking in India as an alternative clean cooking fuel. The aim is to bring about improvements in people’s lives in ways consistent with advancing environmental and social well-being. The Modern Energy Cooking Forum, established in 2022 under the MECS Programme, aims to intensify cooperation among stakeholders from both the public and private sectors in the areas of modern energy for clean cooking. Modern Energy Cooking Forum provides a platform to promote dialogue and share ideas to attract more investment in renewable energy sources, and its usage as cooking fuel. India’s eCooking devices market has witnessed significant growth over the years, with increasing adoption of energy-efficient cooking appliances like induction cook stoves and electric pressure cookers. This growth can be attributed to increasing disposable incomes, urbanisation, and technological advancements.
The Modern Energy Cooking Forum 2024 emphasized collaborative efforts toward making eCooking accessible to all, aiming to create social, economic, and environmental benefits. The event encouraged stakeholders to embrace the green shift by promoting renewable energy-based cooking solutions.
The Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS) is a eight-year programme funded by UK Aid (FCDO) and led by Loughborough University. The programme aims to integrate modern energy cooking services into the planning for electricity access, quality, reliability, and sustainability. By doing so, MECS hopes to leverage investment in renewable energies (both grid and off-grid) to address the clean cooking challenge.
MECS is implementing a strategy focused on including the cooking needs of households in the investment and action on ‘access to affordable, reliable, sustainable modern energy for all’. This strategy is aimed at achieving a shift to modern energy cooking within India, supporting the GoElectric campaigns by the Government of India.
In India, MECS has been instrumental in building critical connections amongst the key stakeholders and promoting modern energy-based clean cooking solutions. The programme has dual aims:
Globally, MECS has been established as a prominent programme in the clean cooking domain. It focuses on becoming a major convening and facilitation programme to achieve the shift to modern energy cooking.
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