India Energy Week 2024: With the Indian economy set to become the world's third largest soon, the country is expanding its power production capacity like never before, with a growing emphasis on gas and renewables
Inaugurating the second edition of India Energy Week 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India's energy sector is set to attract $67 billion over the next 5 to 6 years. Overall, the Indian economy is expected to race along at over 7.5 percent through the next several years, turning it into the third-largest economy in the world soon.
To fuel growth on those scales, India would need massive amounts of energy, which cannot be as reliant on fossil fuels as it is now if the country is to meet its sustainability goal and avert a climate disaster. India's energy demand is expected to double to about 38 million barrels by 2045.
However, even as demand spirals, India is socially obligated to ensure affordable energy "in every corner of the country," something it has achieved in the recent past despite unprecedented global disruptions. Modi said that petrol and diesel prices in real terms have, in fact, declined in the country over the previous few years.
India is already the third-largest energy consumer in the world. It is also the fourth-largest LNG importer, petroleum refiner, and automobile market. The country is setting new records in the sales of two-wheelers and four-wheelers, and the demand for EVs is continuously increasing.
With sustainability in mind, India is actively diversifying its energy sources, and the percentage of natural gas in the overall energy mix is being raised from 6 to 15 percent. Said Modi: "As part of his government's waste-to-wealth management programme, as many as 5,000 compressed biogas plants are being worked upon."