Energy in India's Future : Insights

Gouvernance européenne et géopolitique de l'énergie

In the decades following India's independence from British rule in 1947, the West's image of India was summarized in three simple cliches : the world's largest democracy, an impoverished continent, and economic growth hampered by a fussy bureaucracy and the caste system, all in a context of a particular religion.

These clichés are perhaps one of the reasons that the success of India's green revolution was recognized so late, a revolution that allowed the country to develop its agricultural sector and to feed its population.

Since the 1990s, the easing of planning constraints have liberated the Indian economy and allowed it to embark on a more significant path of growth. New clichés have begun to replace the old : India will become a second China and, lagging by 10 to 20 years, will follow the same trajectory, with its development marked more by services and the use of renewable energy.

However, these trends will not prevent primary energy demand from exploding. On the contrary, India faces difficult choices on how it increases clean, secure, affordable energy to all its citizens. Many of the choices are the same as found elsewhere, but on a scale matched only by China.

The IFRI European Governance and Geopolitics of Energy Project intends this study to deepen public understanding of the magnitude of India's challenges.