India Future energy

India has 17% of the world’s population, but only about 0.8% of the world’s known oil and natural gas resources and Per capita power consumption in India is around 400 Kwh/yr, which is much below the world average consumption of 2400 Kwh/yr. Based on the progress visualized for India in next two decades, the power generating capacity has to increase to 400,000 MW by the year 2030 from the current 130,000 MW in India. Distribution of conventional energy sources in India is Coal – 68%, Lignite – 5.6%, Petroleum – 20 %, Natural gases –5.6%. For energy independence, massive increase in the power generation to match the world average consumption is needed in the coming years to enhance the overall national growth rate.

Though The National Common Minimum Programme has committed to develop our renewable energy potential. Indian government has launched the Rajiv Gandhi Vidyutikaran Yojana and a programme called 'Bharat Nirman', to complete rural electrification within the next 5 years.

The programme looks to combine power generation through thermal, hydro etc., replace diesel with bio-fuels in agricultural pump-sets and tractors, hi-tech biomass gasification for cooking and lighting, and develop frontier technologies like hydrogen and fuel cells.

Our conventional resources are far from being adequate to achieve any ambitious target in terms power generation. With the depleting coal deposits and the limited potential of hydel power, the nation’s future requirements of power could be met by tapping nuclear and other non - conventional resources. There is a lot of potential in non-conventional sources and this must be harnessed. India has consciously proceeded to explore the possibility of tapping nuclear energy for the purpose of power generation and the Atomic Energy Act was framed and implemented with the set objectives of using two naturally occurring elements Uranium and Thorium having good potential to be utilized as nuclear fuel in Indian Nuclear Power Reactors. The estimated natural deposits of these elements in India are:
· Natural Uranium deposits - ~70,000 tones
· Thorium deposits - ~ 3,60,000 tones

In pursuit of the peaceful uses of Atomic Energy, power generation based on nuclear energy assumes first and foremost place and India has achieved many milestones in this area. A well planned program for the progressive expansion for the tapping of atomic energy for electricity keeping in view of the country’s future requirements for increased power generation capacity and available resources has been under implementation. Indo-Us nuclear deal is a strategically move for India’s future energy perspective.