New Delhi, Oct 6 (IANS): Policy makers, investors, social enterprises and manufacturers on Tuesday came together to discuss the pertinent issue of charting out a road map for achieving universal access to clean energy by 2030.

The conference, co-hosted by the new and renewable energy ministry and the Indo-German Energy Program-Access to Energy in Rural Areas (IGEN-Access) intends to gather major stakeholders to discuss pathways for universal clean cooking energy access in India, a release said here.

The experts discussed the major challenges of awareness, accessibility, cost, as well as behavioural changes that need to be addressed in the Indian market to improve access to clean cooking energy in the Indian population.

According to WHO's Global Burden of Disease assessment, an estimated 1.04 million premature deaths per year in India are attributable to household air pollution from cooking fuels, with over 150 million Indian households still dependent on inefficient solid fuels for cooking.

The forum has also roped in clean-cooking practitioners, policy makers, manufacturers, product developers, research organizations, investors, banks, social enterprises, government and donor agencies, foundations and NGOs to collectively initiate the development of a comprehensive and detailed road map for universal access to clean cooking energy in India by 2030.