ABSTRACT
Energy security has long been a major challenge faced by India. Over the last three decades or so, relatively higher economic growth has meant higher demand for energy products and services, which led to even greater energy vulnerability for India. With more than 17 per cent of global population, India accounts for less than one per cent of global oil reserves and global natural gas reserves and about 7 per cent of global coal reserves (BP 2013). Traditional fuels have always played an important part in the energy supplies of India, yet they have become rather stagnant and unable to cope up with the increasing population, which, in turn, also translated into a greater demand for modern commercial fuels. Another aspect of India’s energy security challenge is the lack of access to energy for a large section of its population. At 0.60 ton oil equivalent (TOE), India’s per capita Total Primary Energy Supplies (TPES) is not only far lower than the global average but also lower than that of Africa (see Table 8.1).
