Meeting the challenge of India's energy needs

摘要

While the scale of India's energy problem is visible and can be reasonably measured in terms of its fiscal and macroeconomic balances, the solutions are largely structural and institutional, and much harder to quantify. There is an immediate need to put in place measures to unlock the network of impediments constraining the development of India's energy sector. The two broad areas requiring immediate attention include putting in place: 1. a stable regulatory framework and market-oriented pricing mechanisms, 2. governance and administrative structures that impart confidence among all stakeholders. There is also, however, a wider necessity for a national debate and resolution on the role of national energy resources in India's development. An informed dialogue could set the tone in constructing a more coherent hydrocarbon and energy policy, one which would also incorporate the growing significance of renewables. This is a necessary, non-partisan endeavour, which would create familiarity amongst different constituencies around the larger developmental benefits associated with the responsible exploitation of India's natural resources.