Ten steps to achieve atma nirbharta by 2040

Last Updated06/09/2022

Energy is a key source of economic growth because many production and consumption activities involve energy as a basic input.
India is firmly set on a path of economic prosperity which will need to be built on the back of significant transformations across several facilitating elements, the primary ones being infrastructure build-out, energy availability and sustainability
Energy consumption in India has grown at a compound annual growth rate of about 6% during the last decade.

The US took four decades to shift from steam power to electric power.
This was because they had to be redesigned, if not rebuilt.
Therefore, government policy should be continued to emphasise affordable and secure access to oil and gas.

We have ambitious targets for renewables.
Therefore, India must remove the obstacles to domestic mining and develop strategies to manage the dynamics of market concentration, global competition and unfavourable geopolitics.

Need to develop innovative financing mechanisms to fund green infrastructure.
Need for better financial mechanisms with future planning for the infrastructure development.
Upgrade the transmission grid and battery storage systems to scale up renewables and smoothen its supplies.

The government’s production-linked incentive scheme (PLI) offers benefits for investment in green energy.
The investor response has so far been encouraging by offering tax credits and subsidies
They are also looking to attract private capital to help them meet their net carbon zero targets

Energy usage norms must be standardised and tightened.
Therefore Legislation should be contemplated to ensure compliance as high gas prices were observed in the past which put the burden on energy , economy and consumers.

The nature of jobs and their location changes with the progressive transition to a green energy system.
There is a need for maintenance workers on oil rigs and more for technicians on solar farms.
The consequential requirements for training/skilling should be anticipated as per requirement and standard and delivered.

Due to our dependence on the international energy supply chains, our diplomats should add the arrows of energy diplomacy to their quiver.
Therefore, Success in navigating the cross-currents of economic and geopolitical uncertainties will rest greatly on skilful diplomacy.

An effective, efficient and coordinated administrative overhaul is required for improving the current siloed structures of energy governance which is used at suboptimal level.
Therefore, Institutions should be created to facilitate integrated energy planning and implementation.

Need for leadership that can reconcile temporal differences and balance the short-term pressures of elections with the longer-term imperatives of sustainability.