Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan addressed the ‘GCTC Energy Security Conference 2020’ organized by Global Counter Terrorism Council (GCTC), it took place from September 29, 2020 to September 30, 2020.
i.The Theme of ‘GCTC Energy Security Conference 2020’ is – “Energy Security Architecture in Post Covid-19 World”.
Highlights:
i.The Minister highlighted India’s initiatives to become Atmanirbhar Bharat in the Energy Sector. It includes
- 100% electrification of Indian Railway Routes by 2023.
- Targeted installation of 15 Lakh Solar Pumps under Kisan Urja Evam Utthan Mahabhiyan by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
- Ministry of Road Transport & Highways supporting Hydrogen enriched Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as alternate fuel.
- Acceleration of Clean Coal Technologies through development of Coal Gasification Projects
- Green Port Initiative by the Ministry of Shipping.
ii.He pointed out a five-pronged strategy to reduce crude oil dependency – increasing domestic oil and gas production, promoting bio fuels and renewables, energy conservation and energy efficiency, improvement in refinery processes and demand substitution.
iii.In India, Oil & Gas sector Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) will do CAPEX (Capital Expenditures) spendings worth Rs 1.2 Lakh Crore in 8363 projects/economic activities during 2020-21 financial year, to boost employment and economic growth.
Energy Poverty:
i.India has 16% of the global population, but still uses only 6% of the world’s primary energy (petroleum, natural gas, coal, biomass, flowing water, wind, and solar radiation).
ii.Per capita consumption of energy is one-third of the global average, and India has to develop energy sources to meet the energy deficit through sustainable solutions.
World Economic Forum:
i.According to the World Economic Forum, India is among the few countries to make consistent and measurable progress on energy transition for a period of six years.
Filling of Strategic Petroleum Reserves:
i.Government of India filled the existing Strategic Petroleum Reserves with 16 Million Barrels of Crude Oil resulting in saving of INR 5000 Crore, utilising the low crude oil prices in April, May 2020.
ii.The Government is also increasing the Crude and Petroleum Storage capacity from existing 74 days to 90 days.
iii.The Minister also invited companies for development of 6.5 Million Metric Tons (MMT) of Crude Storage Capacity at Chandikol (Odisha) & Padur (Chennai) in Commercial-cum-strategic reserve Programme.
Alternative Fuels:
i.India is developing Ethanol, Second Generation Ethanol, Compressed BioGas (CBG) and biodiesel to reduce its dependence on imports.
ii.India is moving towards a gas-based economy, through promotion of free gas markets in sync with creation of gas infrastructure. This will increase Gas Share in Primary energy mix to 15% by 2030.
iii.The Minister highlighted the Prime Minister’s ‘One Nation One Gas Grid’ for expanding gas infrastructure in the company.
Initiatives to promote Domestic Gas:
i.The Union Minister highlighted initiatives taken by Government of India (GoI) to promote Domestic Gas such as City Gas Distribution Network (CGD).
ii.Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is being promoted as transport fuel for long-distance trucking along expressways, industrial corridors and in mining areas.
iii.Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) was launched to establish an ecosystem for production of CBG from waste/biomass sources in the country.
iv.India is constructing Renewable capacity of 175 GigaWatt (GW) by 2022 and 450 GW by 2030 for energy security.
Four A’s:
India’s Energy security is working under Framework of Four ‘A’s – availability, accessibility, affordability and acceptability to ensure accessible energy for all sectors, sections of people at an affordable price.
About Global Counter Terrorism Council (GCTC):
GCTC is a registered Non-Profit International Think Tank
Location – Noida, Uttar Pradesh
