India’s Search for Energy Security: The Way Forward Dharitri Parija and Mohanan B Pillai

11

India’s Search for EnergySecurity:

The Way Forward

Dharitri Parija and Mohanan B Pillai

IntroductionThe question of energy security has

been under discussion in India ever sincewe reformed our economy on neo- liberalprinciples two decades back. To keep theeconomic growth on a fast track we have toensure uninterrupted supply of energyeither taping domestic sources orimporting it from other countries. Infact, India’s energy resource endowmentsare not sufficient enough to ensure energysecurity for a fast growing economy. Herecomes the question what do we mean byenergy security? Succinct answer has beengiven by our planning commission.According to the Planning Commission ofIndia “we are energy secure when it cansupply lifeline energy to all its citizensas well as meet their effective demand for

India’s National Security

safe and convenient energy to satisfyvarious needs at affordable costs at alltime with a prescribed confidence levelconsidering shocks and disruptions thatcan be reasonably expected” (PlanningCommission 2006).In fact, India’s rapideconomic growth has made it the secondfastest-growing energy market in theworld. India’s intensified search forenergy security is a by-product of theliberalization, privatization andglobalization of the India economy.

Low level of domestic production ofenergy and high per capita consumptionof energy are major hurdle in the way ofIndia’s emergence as a major player inregional and global politics. In ourvillages many people still do not haveaccess to electricity for their basicneeds. In fact, energy security in Indiais enmeshed with growth and poverty. Onthe one hand, the country has to provideenough commercial energy for growth and onthe other hand it has to bridge theinequality gap between the urban middleclass and rural poor’s consumption levelof energy. So, a clear articulation oflong term goal is essential forprioritizing short-term activities forbuilding the path to a sustainable future.

Against this backdrop, the present

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India’s Search for Energy Security

paper makes an assessment of India’sincreasing energy demand and thechallenges, opportunities and success orotherwise of |India’s attempts to gainaccess to alternative energy sources tomaintain consistency in economic growth.

India’s Energy Security Scene: An Overview As we all know, in recent years, the

Indian economy has emerged as one of thefastest growing economies of the worldwith a population of 1.05 billion. As aresult, India faces twin challenges ofmeeting its energy needs to maintaineconomic growth and to achieve thedevelopment targets of its risingpopulation. In the past couple of decades,energy related issues and policychallenges have grown in colossal termsdue to economic development, populationgrowth, lifestyle changes, rapidly growingautomobile sector etc.,

At present, substantial portion ofIndia’s energy basket is filled-in bycoal. But, being a signatory to the KyotoProtocol, India is committed to cater itsburgeoning energy needs of urbanization,modernization and rapid growth intransportation through cleaner fuels.Furthermore, if economic growth continuesto register at five per cent rate per

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annum as it is doing now, proven reservesof coal, as per the estimation, will notlast more than 40 years. Secondly, 90 percent of India’s commercial energyrequirement is precariously dependent onfossil fuel, which the country is not wellendowed with it. On current consumptionrate, domestic reserves of crude oil areestimated to be sufficient only for abouteight years or 33 years at currentproduction levels. (Nanda 2009: 51). Major Sources of Energy Consumed in India According to the International EnergyAgency (IEA), hydrocarbons account for amajor share of India’s energy use.Together, coal and oil represent abouttwo-thirds of the total energy use.Natural gas now accounts for seven percentshare. Combustible renewable and wasteconstitute about one fourth of the Indianenergy use which include traditionalbiomass sources such as firewood and dung,which are used by more than 800 millionIndian households for cooking. Otherrenewable sources such as wind,geothermal, solar and hydroelectricityrepresent a 2 percent share of the Indianfuel mix and nuclear energy holds only onepercent share. According to B.P.Statistical Review of World Energy 2011,coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear power and

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hydroelectricity account for the bulk ofthe total primary commercial energyconsumed within India.

Coal Resources: As has already beennoted, Coal is the most important energysource for India. More than 40 percent ofits total energy needs are met from bothdomestic and imported coal. About 70percent of the total coal consumed is usedfor power generation. India’s coalconsumption is growing by 10 percent everyfive years. Because of low productivityand high cost of coal production has madeimported coal cheaper and more attractiveMoreover, high ash content and lowcalorific value of Indian coal causesconsiderable environmental degradation(Chellaney 2005: 63).

Oil Resources: The position of India inthe nmatter of oil reserves is not ascomfortable as coal. India has limited oilresources and have to import oil tomeet the growing energy requirement.According to the CIA World Fact book 2011of proven oil reserves, India ranks 21st

in the world. The proven oil resourcewith India is estimated to be 8.9 billionbarrels. Oil, which contributes roughly24 percent of India’s energy need isvery crucial to Indian economy and itssecure and reliable supply at affordable

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price will shape up the over alleconomic growth. The chart below showsthat the demand has been steadilyincreasing and is likely to rise in thetime to come but the overall oilproduction is not growing along withthe growth in demand. Thus rising oilconsumption and relatively flat productionhas left India increasingly dependent onimports to meet its petroleum demand. In2010, India was the world’s fifth largestnet importer of oil, importing more than2.2 million bbl/d, or about 70 percent ofits consumption(Sahu 2010: 24).

Table 11.1: Resource Endowment: Proven OilReserves

Country Oil Reserves RankRussia 60 billion bbl 8US 20.68 billion

bbl11

China 14.7 billion bbl 14India 8.935 billob bbl 20Germany 276 million bbl 57Japan 44.12 million

bbl80

Source: CIA World Fact Book, 2012, accessed on13-03-2013

Substantial portion of India’s crudeoil imports come from the Middle East,

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from Saudi Arabia and Iran .Africa adds 22percent to Indian oil imports.

Natural Gas: The situation in regard tonatural gas is not much different from theoil sector. India ranks 26th in world’sproven natural gas reserves having anestimated gas reserve of 38 TrillionCubic Feet (TCF).

Though, India’s internal production ofgas has increased substantially, thedemand for gas, however, has increasedmuch faster than the production. As aresult, India has become an importerof gas. India’s natural gas demandis driven by power and fertilizersectors, which consume roughly threefourth of the total demand.Natural gasdemand is expected to grow considerably,largely driven by demand in the powersector. Moreover, natural gas is expectedto be an increasingly important componentof energy consumption as the countrypursues energy resource diversificationto attain the goal of energy security. Itis emerging as an alternative to oil inthe transportation sector in the form ofCompressed Natural Gas(CNG) because offirstlyenvironmental reasons and secondlythe effort of the Government to reduceincreasing dependence on oil.

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Table 11.2: Resource Enndowment: Proven Natural Gas Reserves

Country Natural GasReserves

Rank

Russia 47.57 trillion Cu m 1Iran 33.07 trillion Cu m 2Qatar 25.2 trillion Cu m 3SaudiArabia

8.028 trillion Cu m 4

US 7.716 trillion Cu m 5China 3.1 Trillion Cu m 14India 1.154 Trillion Cu m 25Germany 175.6 billion Cu m 48Japan 20.9 billion Cu m 76Source: CIA World Fact Book,2012 (1st Januaryest)accessed on 13-03-2013

Nuclear Power: Nuclear power accountsfor a small portion of the totalcommercial energy consumed in India.Though, right now, nuclear powercontributes a small quantum , it bearsthe potential to be India’s reliableenergy source. The future development ofnuclear power within India is dependent oncivil nuclear commercial engagementwiththe international community. According tothe Indian energy handbook 2011, Indiannuclear market is estimated to be worth$100 billion, and planners hope to build40,000 MW of nuclear capacity by 2020. The

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GoI wants the share of nuclear in theoverall fuel mix to increase from around3% to 25% by 2050.The signing of the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal in October 2006 hasopened up opportunities for India in thefield of civilian nuclear trade andcooperation.(India Energy Hand Book2011:14)

Hydro Power: Hydro electricityaccounts for 5-6 percent of the totalcommercial primary energy consumption inIndia. In recent years, hydropower hascontributed to 23 percent of the totalelectricity generation in India. Thecountry is endowed with many large riversand two close neighbours having enoughhydro potential from which barely aquarter has been tappedn till now .Controversies with regard to the hydalprojects indicate that India faces seriousecological, social and politicalchallenges in developing its hydal power.But hydroelectricity cooperation at theregional level in south Asia has importantimplications for India’s energy security.

According to the report of the Ministryof New and Renewable Energy, Indiaoccupies 2.4 percent of the world’s landarea but supports 16.2 percent of theworld’s human popualtion with an expectedGDP growth of average 8-9 percent annually

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which needs more and more energy tosustain the growth paradigm. It is thefourth largest energy consumer in theworld after the US, China and RussianFederation. However, the per capita energyconsumption in comparison with the otherglobal powers is very low. Out of 72percent of rural population, 45 percent ofrural households are yet to be providedwith electricity and 14 percent of thepopulation lives in unelectrified villages(Maithani 2011). Therefore, India needs anuninterrupted and secure supply of energyto meet its global power aspiration asalso to bridge the rich- poor gap.Therefore India has to diversify theenergy sources and develop and tap everypossible alternative sources on a war-footing basis.

In this context,it is imperative tohave a look at India’s energy diplomacyand international engagement. Energy Diplomacy: The Way Forward?

There is a geographical mismatchbetween the major centres of oil and gasproductions—primarily the Middle East,Central Asia and the Caucasus—and thecentres of consumption, i.e. the US,Europe, China, Japan and India. The largeenergy consuming nations of the world

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have been pursuing foreign relations inthe energy resources rich regions withthe objective of keeping the supplychannels in their favour. (Pardesi &Ganguly 2009: 102). To meet the rapidlygrowing energy needs through imports fromvarious nations having energy in surplusinvolves finest form of diplomatic skills.Diplomacy becomes imperative because theenergy exporting nations have theliberty to choose the buyer with aview to accrue the best possible benefitsfrom the buyer country.

As a re- emerging power, energysecurity has always been a foreign policypriority area for India as the country hasbeen traditionally dependent onimports.The hydrocarbons sector plays avital role in the economic growth of thecountry. Therefore, in order to have along-term policy for the hydrocarbonssector, which would facilitate meeting thefuture needs of the country, theformulation of Hydrocabon Vision 2025 isan important step by the Government ofIndia in right direction. TheHydrocarbons Vision, 2025 lays down theframework to guide the policies relatingto the hydrocarbon sector for the next 25years which reads as follows:1. To focus on oil security through

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intensification of, exploration effortsand achievement of 100% coverage ofunexplored basins in a time boundmanner to enhance domestic availabilityof oil and gas.

2. To secure acreages in identifiedcountries having high attractivenessfor ensuring sustainable long termsupplies.

3. To pursue projects to meet the deficitin demand and supply of natural gas,and facilitate availability of LNG.

4. To maintain adequate levels of self-sufficiency in refining (90 percent ofconsumption of middle distillates).

5. To establish adequate strategic storageof crude and petroleum products indifferent locations.

6. To create additional infrastructure fordistribution and marketing of oil andgas.

7. To open up the hydrocarbon market sothat there is free and faircompetition, between public sectorenterprises, private companies andother international players.

8. To create a policy framework forcleaner and greener fuels.

9. To have a rational tariff and pricingpolicy, which would ensure the consumergetting the petroleum products at the

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most reasonable prices and requisitequality, eliminating adulteration?

10. To announce a long-term fiscalpolicy to attract required investmentsin the hydrocarbon sector.

11. To restructure the oil sector PSUswith the objective of enhancingshareholder value and disinvest in aphased manner in all the oil sectorPSUs.

12. To develop regulatory andlegislative framework for providing oilor gas security 'for the country(Hydrocarbon Vision-2025). To put it in other words, India has

reassessed its energy related foreignpolicy objectives and energy strategies toaddress the issue of energy security inthe following ways: (1) diversification ofsuppliers, (2) diversification of sourcesof energy, (3) the purchase of equitystakes overseas, (4) the security of itshydrocarbon supplies, (5)ensuring adequatestorage of energy,and (6) cooperation withneighbouring countries within South Asiaas well as outside South Asia.

Regional DimensionsThough, India has been actively trying

to engage its Himalayan neighbours toharness hydroelectricity to reduce its

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dependence on fossil fuels for electricitygeneration, there are various domesticproblems associated with it. Nepal andBhutan curenly harness merely 1.2 and 2.6percent of their total hydroelectricitypotential respectively. The financial andtecnological assistance from India inhydropower cooperation have become animportant consideartion for both Nepal andBhutan. At present 15 jointhydroeletricity projects with four of itsneighbouring countries i.e Bhutan, Nepal,Myanmar and Afghanistan are underdiscussion. But India’s image as a ‘BigBrother’ among the small countries ofSouth Asia has created some kind offlutter in the way of meaningfulcooperation .For instance , Nepal thinksthat India cheated it in the MahakaliTreaty of 1996. Alongwith this we have toconsider whether increasing involvement ofChina in Nepal’s development programmes isfueling the fire.

Similarly, Gas pipeline proposalfrommyanmar to India’s North-East markedthe potential of bilateral energy co-operation in Southern Asia. If materilisedproperly, Myanmar could become animportant source of energy supply toIndia’s eastern states. But unfortunately,India has been too slow and is not having

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a clear long term vision on how to engageMyanmar and to deal with Chinese influencethere(Lall 2008).India’s pipelineproposal was finally rejected byMyanmar after China’s state ownedcompany got the project.

According to Sreeradha Datta (2008), asquoted by Panwar, “One ONGC officialconceded that, ‘China matched India’soffer very aggressively and they madeevery effort to ensure that this gasproject is wrapped up. We lacked thatkind of aggressive strategy and alsosuffered from delays in decision-making”(Panwar 2009: 14). Furthermore, it isnoteworthy that the Look East policy hasnot added much to improve therelationship. The same is the case withBangladesh. Bangladesh can earnsubstantial foreign exchange by sellingnatural gas to India (Chellany 2005: 75).But because of Bangladesh’s unwillingnessto export gas to India and India’sunwillingness to link trade-related issuesin its negotiation with Bangladesh, thecooperation is not materialising asdesired. One fact is clear that India’senergy diplomacy has been restricted byits conflicting interests to the extent towhich it is hampering its energy securityefforts.Furthermore India’s oil diplomacy

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with a few countries for acquisition ofoil and gas assets abroad through theconstruction of pipelines, are hindered bycertain strategic factors, including theUS factor.Quite naturally , India seems torun into conflict of interests with the USwhile trying to cooperate with potentialenergy suppliers like Myanmar, Sudan andVenezuela.

It is very much discrenible thatIndia’s quest for energy supply is beingmet with road blocks in the form of tenseborder relations with energy suppliers,energy transit countries as also fromother buyers in the energy market. UnlikeChina,which has either resolved or shelvedits border disputes, India has unsolvedconflicts with almost all of itsneighbouring states. India’s sensitiverelations with Pakistan is standing in theway of the proposed gas pipeline fromTurkmenistan or Iran to India, which willhave to pass through Pakistani territory.Furthermore, India’s not so goodrelations with natural gas-richBangladesh and Myanmar who are very muchChina friendly have again hampered itsenergy quest inside South Asia. Thus,India has to deal with more seriousgeopolitical and security challengesbefore it can realize its overland

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pipeline dreams (Hong 2009). Moreover,China is always there as a strongcompetitor in the regional as well asglobal energy market. Needless to say USstrtegies to have a monopoly control overthe energy resource rich regions of theworld has its own bearing on India’senergy diplomacy.

Another important factor to beconsidered at this jencture is theabsence of institutional structure todevelop an integrated energypolicy.India, now has seven or eightdifferent ministries that arecurrently involved with energy security.The result is obviously the absence of asingle holistic framework which can framean ingegrated energy policy (Mehta 2011).It is noteworthy that China hasestablished a high level energy entity incharge of formulating and implementing itsoverall energy development strategy. Chinaestablished the Energy Leading Group in2005 as a supra-ministerial coordinatingbody headed by Chinese Premier. In March2008, China established anothernational-level energy institution calledthe National Energy Administration. Allthis shows China is adept at dealing withenergy security issues .It has evolved anintegrated energy sector management

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mechanism by improving coordinationbetween industries and ministries in thematter of the formation, implementationand enforcement of energy policies andstrategies (Hong 2009).

India has become increasingly consciousabout the importance of diversi cationfiof energy sources particularly withregard to oil and gas. Oil and gasreserves are concentrated in the unstableMiddle East and Persian Gulf, Central Asiaand Russia. Over 70 percent of natural gasreserves are located in Russia, Iran andQatar. In this new energy world order ofintense competition between the developedand emerging countries, Iran, Russia andthe energy resource rich Persian Gulfstates have reclaimed their advantageouspositions as popular energy suppliers. Atthe same time India and China have emergedas the biggest consumers of Eurasianenergy resources in general and MiddleEastern in particular (Coşkun 2011: 73).

Middle EastOf late, India’s policy towards the

Middle East has often been assessedthrough the lens of Indo-Iranian relationswhich have come under intense scrutiny.Pakistan has already signed a pipelinedeal with Tehran. China is trying to play

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a major role in the geopolitics byundertaking massive investments in thecountry and by becoming Iran’s largesttrading partner. Recent years have markedIndia’s shrinking presence and China’sgrowing engagement with Iran when firmssuch as Reliance Industries withdrew dueto western pressure. Moreover, a number ofimportant projects with Indian businessesand the Indian government have either beenrejected by Iran or have yet to befinalized due to last minute changes inthe terms and conditions by Tehran whichshows the unreliability of Iran and theshort-sighted diplomacy from the Indianside. The nuclear issue is also equallycomplicated for Indian-Iranian relations.Iran was not supportive of the Indiannuclear tests in 1998 and was in favour ofthe UN Security Council’s resolutionasking India to sign the NPT and CTBT(Pant 2011: 63, 64). Moreover, the Iraniannuclear issue where US pressure on Indiawas clearly visible. The case of I-P-Ipipeline is another issue. However,India’s support for the security ofAfghanistan is a crucial point in Indo-Iranian relations.

At the same time, India also wants tosecure energy supplies and consolidateeconomic and trade relations with the Gulf

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States i.e. Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar,Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, or the membersof the Gulf Cooperation Council. India isnow the fourth largest recipient of Saudioil after China, the United States andJapan. Both India and Saudi Arabia arehaving their own strategic interest inthemselves. Other than oil, India wantsSaudi Arabia’s partnership tocounterweight its traditional allyPakistan in the Islamic world. Having thethird largest Muslim population in theworld, India possesses an advantage.Likewise, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionof 1979 which added a new phase of rivalrybetween Iran and Saudi Arabia, therelationship with India is having anotheradvantage for Saudi Arabia. Therefore,India must use the opportunity of engagingSaudi Arabia in a mutually beneficialmanner. However, energy has become themajor driving force in Gulf -Indianrelations. The GCC countries supply 45percent of India’s petroleum consumptionand out of which Saudi Arabia is exportinga quarter of those supplies and Kuwait,Oman, and the UAE are other majorsuppliers.

Moreover, Qatar is the exclusivesupplier of natural gas, annuallysupplying five million tons of LNG to

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India. India is also engaging Israelbilaterally by becoming Israel’s secondlargest trading partner for non-militarygoods and services in Asia. In essence,India is in a good position in itsrelationship with the Middle East. Thesecurity consequences of a rising Iran inthe Arab Gulf states, Tehran’s nucleardrive, its interference in neighbouringIraq, and President Ahmadinejad’saggressive rhetoric are raising anxietiesin Arab states about a resurgent Iran,forcing them to reorient their diplomacyaccordingly where an emerging Indiabecomes a better option (ibid). For Indiait is the 65 percent of Middle Eastern oilwhich has become the diplomatic priority.However, India also has to face China andthe US as strong competitors in the MiddleEastern chessboard.

Central Asia and RussiaCentral Asian and Russian oil and gas

are another source where India candiversify its energy security thrust.However, India has not yet entered intoany long term energy import agreement withthe countries of Central Asia but it istrying to enhance its own political,economic and military influence there. Theproposed gas pipeline from central Asia,

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i.e. Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI), if it is successful, wouldbe able to supply gas from Central Asiaand the Caucasus region to India throughan interlinked region connectingTurkmenistan. In addition to central Asianhydrocarbon, India is also trying toaccess hydroelectricity from Tajikistanand Kyrgyzstan to supply to its northernIndian states. However, this path is alsonot free from any difficulty. India facesstrategic competition from China and theUS who is an old player in this part ofEurasia (Blank 2009:302).China with itsdurable energy strategy has built its oiland natural gas pipelines from CentralAsia faster than other countries.

It has signed agreements with thecentral Asian countries with a long termvision. Through massive investments,Chinese influence and visibility isgrowing significantly in a positive wayin the region. However, China is not muchcomfortable with Russia where it will facestrategic competition (Pop 2010). Russia’sresurgence as a major energy power in theworld stage has again changed worldpolitics. As an old ally, India expectsRussia to play a major role as a globalpower. At the same time, a rising Indiacan play a great part for a multipolar

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world ambition of Russia. So, in this newglobal system, it has become necessary todiversify their respective interest andengage each other in a mutually beneficialmanner. India must have to frame a longterm Central Asian energy vision to face agreat deal of competition and to projectitself as a major player in the region.

AfricaThe energy deposits in Africa have

generated a great deal of interest allover the world including India. Indiaopted to establish relations with moreremote regions in order to secure itsenergy supplies. The African continentholds 9.4 percent of the world’s oilreserves. Angola is Africa’s largest oilproducer having superior grade oil withlow sulphur content. The United States isthe single largest buyer of Angolan crudefollowed by China .Angola is the thirdlargest source of Chinese imports.Mozambican coal has attracted Indiancompanies and has seen growinginvestment. India’s historical linkagesand diplomatic relations brought thesecountries closer and helped inpromoting investment. India andMozambique have closer diplomaticrelations and in Mozambique, Indian

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companies have invested in coal. Indiaalso has invested in SaoTome and Principeand Indian companies have secured sharesin oil blocks. However, competition frominternational oil companies especiallyChinese oil companies in Angola haskept India out of the oil sector. In2004, the ONGC through its internationalarm ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) made abid to buy Shell’s fifty percentshare in Block 18 of Angola. Thedeal was important for India as it couldhave yielded about 5 million barrels ofcrude oil daily. But Chinese company’slast minute intervention and much higheraid package made India lose the bid (Sahu2010).

United StatesIn an article entitled ‘Nuclear power

is our gateway to a prosperous future’India’s nuclear scientist and ex-PresidentA.P.J Abdul Kalam has argued that Indiais blessed with a very rare and importantnuclear fuel called Thorium which isconsidered to be the nuclear fuel of thefuture. Nuclear power, when compared withother sources of energy, provides arelatively clean, high-density source ofreliable energy with an internationalpresence. He argues: There is a need for

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better technology and more stable plantdesign across the world, but theoccurrence of four failures in six decadescannot be made out as a case forcompletely disbanding the technology.” Heassures “it is poor judgment and adeliberate act of spreading fear tocompare a nuclear bomb with a nuclearplant. The bomb is designed to deliver alarge amount of energy over a very shortperiod of time, leading to explosions,restorms and massive heat energyfi

generated to obliterate every object inits path. That is what a bomb is supposedto do! Civilian nuclear applications inthe form of a power plant, on the otherhand, are designed to deliver smallamounts of energy in a sustainable mannerover a far larger time frame. It isdesigned with systems to control and coolthe nuclear reaction. There are safetyprocedures and back-ups, and even in theevent of failures, as in the 2011disaster, the destructive might will neverbe even a fraction of what happens in thecase of a nuclear bomb.” Since July 2005,Indo-US relationship has accelerated a newpoint of strategic engagement. Nuclearpower which is an affordable, clean andabundant energy source, if developedcompletely, can lead us to a healthy

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future (Kalam and Singh 2011).To this end, the Indo-US Civil Nuclear

Deal marked an end in India’s nuclearisolation. The deal if unsuccessful willhamper India’s energy security as well asrising strategic profile. But thisrelationship is having its own rhetoricfrom both the sides and that has to bemanaged carefully by taking into accounteach other’s expectations.

Concluding ObservationsFrom the above analysis certain

important points are clearly emerging.Firstly, India does not enjoy selfsufficiency in the matter of domesticenergy sources whether it is oil, naturalgas or coal. We have to buy it from theinternational market which is mainlycontrolled by the US and India’s attemptsto make inroads into a difficult terrainare curtailed by an insurmountablepresence of China. It is also note worthythat India’s energy diplomacy is finetuned to diversify market access. At thesame time lack of an integrated energyadministration mechanism has beenneutralizing the diplomatic initiatives ofthe Indian foreign policy establishmentfor diversification of the energyprocurement market. In the present day

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energy world order it is a daunting taskto maintain cordial relations withtraditional suppliers in the Gulf regionas also making forays into new regionswhich are blessed with abundant supply ofenergy resources like central Asia andAfrica. In addition to the diversifying ofsupply sources India has to concentrate ontapping hither to a little tapped sourcesof energy within the country. Our researchin the field of renewable energy sourceshave to come out with commercially viabletechnology to tap wind and solar energy.As it has rightly been pointed out by ourformer president APJ Abdul Kalam nuclearpower is our gateway to a prosperousfuture. Neo-liberal globalization and rapidindustrialization and urbanization inChina and India have added a new dimensionto security discourses in the form ofenergy security, which has become theprime concern of every state in theinternational arena. In this complexscenario, India needs a very carefulstrategic move towards its regionalneighbours as well as global friends.India needs to rearticulate its energystrategies and engage regional as well asglobal players through bi-lateral andmulti-lateral mechanisms.

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There is also a growing need fordiplomatic and economic support for waysto minimize the Middle East’s influence bydeveloping alternative supply sources andalternative energy routes from CentralAsia and Africa by engaging them for along term relationship. Furthermore,energy cooperation and proactive energydiplomacy in its South Asian neighbourhoodwould allow India to transform into animportant global player who could shapeits regional environment. By emerging as asecured country in its energy sector,India can retain its dominant position inSouth Asia. Moreover, well-plannedpragmatic energy diplomacy towards CentralAsia, limited but healthy relationshipwith China and strategic friendship withthe US would enable India to emerge as amajor player in international politics.

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India’s Search for Energy Security: The Way Forward Dharitri Parija and Mohanan B Pillai

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