Context
Energy is no longer a passive growth input but the foundation of sovereignty and security. For India, with 85% crude and 50% natural gas dependence, energy shocks directly hit the trade balance, inflation, as well as national resilience.
India’s Current Energy Vulnerabilities
(i) Import Bill Burden – Crude oil and gas imports worth one hundred seventy billion dollars in FY24 make up a quarter of merchandise imports. As a result, a strain on foreign exchange and a widened CAD were seen.
(ii) Overconcentration on Russia – After the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Russian share rose to an average of 37.5% of imports. It exposed India to global risk and sanctions vulnerability.
(iii) Macro Instability – Import surges devalue the rupee, ignite inflation, and threaten fiscal space for welfare and infrastructure spending.
(iv) Geopolitical Flashpoints – West Asian conflicts like Israel–Iran could disrupt 20 mb/d flows. As a consequence, it will push crude above $100 and destabilise India’s supply chains.
Key Challenges to Energy Sovereignty
(i) Technology Gaps – India lacks indigenous SMR( small modulator reactor) designs, upgraded coal-gasification, and imports eighty percent of electrolyser parts.
(ii) Financing Deficit – Energy transition requires ten trillion dollars for the next 45 years, but India’s green finance inflows is still below the target.
(iii) Infrastructure Bottlenecks – Feeble transmission networks, inadequate storage capacity, and low-voltage stability hamper large-scale renewable integration.
(iv) Policy Fragmentation – Overlapping mandates of the MoP, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas slow decisions, creating incoherence in long-term energy planning.
(v) Environmental-Social Costs – Coal gasification increases emissions, nuclear projects face land acquisition issues, and large hydro risks establish an ecological system.
(vi) Global Market Volatility – Liquid natural gas price shocks, carbon border taxes like the European Union’s CBAM(carbon border adjustment mechanism), and OPEC(Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) supply curbs disrupt India’s external balance.
(vii)Critical Mineral Dependence – Lithium, cobalt, and nickel imports for batteries and hydrogen systems create new strategic dependencies.
Five Pillars of India’s Energy Sovereignty
(i) Coal Gasification with Carbon Capture – India’s one hundred fifty billion tonnes of reserves can produce syngas, methanol, and hydrogen. The previous thing can be done if ash barriers are overcome via advanced technology.
(ii) Biofuels for Rural Empowerment – Ethanol blending lowers crude imports while bio-manure enriches degraded soils and ameliorates water retention.
E.g.: Ethanol blending transferred ninety-two thousand crore to farmers by 2024.
(iii) Nuclear Backbone – Rejuvenating the thorium roadmap, extending uranium tie-ups, and adopting SMRs will create a stable, zero-carbon baseload for a renewable-heavy grid.
Eg: Nuclear stuck at 8.8 gigawatt, far below India’s hundred gigawatt target.
(iv) Green Hydrogen Leadership – Target of 5 million metric tons/year by 2030 demands local electrolyser, catalyst, and storage ecosystems to eliminate external dependence.
E.g.: the National Green Hydrogen Mission emphasizes supply chain localisation.
(v) Pumped Hydro Storage – Leveraging India’s topography, pumped hydro can offer momentum and backup to balance sporadic solar and wind.
E.g.: New pumped storage projects in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh are ongoing.
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Way Forward
(i) Diversify Sources – Apart from Russia and West Asia, India should expand its base for crude and LNG ties. It could be done with Africa, Central Asia, and Latin America.
(ii) Expand Strategic Reserves – India’s 77-day cover must scale to IEA’s(International Energy Agency) 90-day benchmark for true buffer security.
(iii) Balanced Transition – Maintain a fossil-renewable mix till 2040 to avoid disruptions while scaling clean tech.
(iv) Institutionalise Sovereignty Doctrine – A National Energy Sovereignty Council should integrate energy, climate, and security policy.
(v) Technology Partnerships – Use Quad, BRICS+, and I2U2 platforms for SMRs, hydrogen tech, as well as carbon capture collaborations.
Conclusion
Energy sovereignty is the survival doctrine of this century. So, by looking into the structural issues and cashing in on its 5-pillar strategy, India can make itself a shock absorber from global uncertainties, securing affordable energy, and eventually emerging as a resilient energy power.