Energy policy of India

[18] Given India's growing energy demands and limited domestic oil and gas reserves, the country has ambitious plans to expand its renewable and most worked out nuclear power programme.

[46][47][48] Also, the break even price at user end for switching from imported coal to LNG in electricity generation is estimated near US$6 per million British thermal units ($20/MWh).

[65] Top five hard and brown coal producing countries in 2013 (2012) are (million tons): China 3,680 (3,645), United States 893 (922), India 605 (607), Australia 478 (453) and Indonesia 421 (386).

[74] Synthetic natural gas production technologies have tremendous scope to meet the transport sector requirements fully using the locally available coal in India.

[76][77] Many coal based fertiliser plants which are shut down can also be retrofitted economically to produce SNG as LNG and CNG fetch good price by substituting imports.

[64] India has recently approved the construction of new coal-fired power stations to address its increasing electricity needs, which are driven by the nation's rapid economic growth.

Despite facing criticism for environmental pollution and contributing to global greenhouse emissions, these actions reflect India's practical approach to ensure a stable energy supply.

India has pledged to decrease its dependence on coal, but the demands of its rapidly growing economy and increasing energy requirements tell a different story.

The Tuticorin power plant in southern India, which was scheduled to be shut down because it could not meet pollution standards, continues to operate at high capacity.

Faced with the challenge of ensuring a steady power supply, the Indian government has often prioritized meeting its immediate energy needs over fulfilling its environmental promises, leading to a renewed reliance on coal.

This situation has important ramifications for India's environmental targets and its contribution to global efforts aimed at reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

[92] Nearly 750 million tons of nonedible (by cattle) biomass is available annually in India which can be put to higher value addition use and substitute imported crude oil, coal, LNG, urea fertilizer, nuclear fuels, etc.

[110] India's three Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) are currently setting up 12 second-generation ethanol plants across the country which will collect agriculture waste from farmers and convert it into bio-ethanol.

[119] It is the most widely used form of renewable energy but the economically exploitable hydropower potential keeps on varying due to technological developments and the comparable cost of electricity generation from other sources.

There are vast tracts of land suitable for solar power in all parts of India exceeding 8% of its total area which are unproductive barren and devoid of vegetation.

The solar power potential of India can meet perennially to cater to per capita energy consumption at par with USA/Japan for the peak population in its demographic transition.

[139] They can cater the load/ demand perfectly and work as base load power plants when the extracted solar energy is found excess in a day.

In India, this disadvantage can be overcome by installing pumped-storage hydroelectricity stations to store the surplus electricity generated during the daytime for meeting the demand during the night hours.

Electricity-driven vehicles would become popular in the future when the energy storage / battery technology becomes more compact, lesser density, longer lasting, and maintenance-free.

India has been using imported enriched uranium and is under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards, but it has developed various aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle to support its reactors.

While uranium deposits in the nation are extremely limited, there are much greater reserves of thorium, and it could provide hundreds of times the energy with the same mass of fuel.

[55][161] A luxury FCEV car generates one liter of bottled quality drinking water for every 10 km ride which is a significant byproduct.

[168][169][11] The hydrogen fuel generated by 500 billion units of electricity can replace all diesel and petrol consumed by heavy and medium duty vehicles in India completely obviating the need of crude oil imports for internal consumption.

[185][46][186] LPG is also used in heavy-duty vehicles/boats / trains / off-road construction or mining or farming or other equipment to replace diesel or petrol with economy and environmental advantages.

[190] Instead of using LPG as a heating fuel in the domestic sector, for higher-end usage, propane can also be converted into alkylate which is a premium gasoline blending stock because it has exceptional antiknock properties and gives clean burning.

India might also be able to enter into long-term power purchase agreements with China for developing the hydropower potential of the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon in the Brahmaputra River basin of Tibet.

[216] In general, India's strategy is to encourage the development of renewable sources of energy by offering financial incentives from the federal and state governments.

[220] In India where most of the crude oil and natural gas are imported, the negative effects (externalities or liability to the society) is up to five times of the revenue from fossil fuels in the year 2021.

[232][233] Recent amendment to Energy Conservation Act in December 2022 included carbon trading provisions, green fuels mandatory use, etc.

In urban areas, 89% of the households use LPG drastically reducing the use of traditional fuels – fuelwood, agricultural waste and biomass cakes – for cooking and general heating needs.