New Energy Security Plan on anvil
Focus of the new energy plan will be to move towards usage of non-fossil fuels & renewable energy sources.
By K.A.Badarinath, INDIATIMES NEWS NETWORK |
NEW DELHI: In a bid to insulate the economy from upheavals in the energy markets and ensure development momentum, UPA Government is readying a new Energy Security Plan.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has directed the Ministries of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Coal, Non-conventional Energy Resources as well as Power to come up with ‘action plans’ to ensure energy security.
Sources divulged that External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee is coordinating this exercise as the ‘virtual number two’ in Manmohan Singh’s cabinet.
Focus of the new energy security plan will be to move towards usage of non-fossil fuels and renewable energy sources. Lesser dependence on fossil fuels and non-renewable energy resources is being pushed for by the Manmohan Singh Government.
This means that dependence on crude imports and other hydrocarbon products has been recommended by PMO. However, the state-owned oil companies will continue with their campaign to take foothold in new energy markets by buying up strategic oil equity assets abroad.
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An action plan is also being readied to “reduce the energy intensity of GDP growth” and establish a string of institutes to take up research in developing new and clean sources of energy that include solar, wind, hydrogen fuel cells, bio-fuels, bio-mass and bio-diesel.India proposes to make this energy strategy as a Non Aligned Movement (NAM) initiative. NAM has 118 countries – developing and under-developed – as its members. Cuba is currently the chairman of the NAM after the conference held in Havana during September 2006.
Energy is another front being opened by India to engage the world powers after having played a crucial role on trade and agriculture issues at World Trade Organisation (WTO) by forming the G-20 alliance.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has already offered New Delhi as the fulcrum for this energy initiative. India has mooted the idea of putting together a NAM working group on Energy Security that seeks to protect and expand the economic interests of developing countries as against the oil cartels in middle-east and far-east, Western Europe and US.
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Specific energy proposals to engage the developing and non-developed countries will be mooted by India through NAM Coordination Bureau housed in New York.Start a SIP with as low as ₹500 with ET Money App!
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