Context: Recently, Prime Minister of India has delivered the inaugural address at 4th India Energy Forum where the theme of this edition is “India’s Energy Future in a world of Change”.
About the event

• This is the 5th such event organized by NITI Aayog and Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas. Around 45 CEOs of major Oil and Gas companies will attend the event this year.
• The objective behind the meeting is to deliver a global platform to understand best-practices, discuss reforms, and inform strategies for accelerating investments into the Indian Oil and Gas value chain.
• The event will convene an international group of speakers and a community of over a thousand delegates from India and over 30 countries, including from regional energy companies, energy-related industries, institutions and governments.

The PM listed seven key drivers of change on India’s energy map:

• Accelerating efforts towards a gas-based economy.
• Cleaner use of fossil fuels, particularly petroleum and coal.
• Greater reliance on domestic sources to drive biofuel.
• Achieving the renewable energy target of 450 GW by 2030.
• Increasing the contribution of electricity to decarbonise mobility.
• Moving into emerging fuels, including hydrogen.
• Digital innovation across all energy systems.

Key points

• India’s per capita consumption of coal is about 1/10th of that of the United States but still, India aims to use cleaner technology for low- carbon energy future.
• In addition to the above initiatives, India is planning to transform itself into Gas Economy.
• Natural Gas offers an option of a balancing fuel, as it has proven capability to complement renewables.
• The contribution of modern technologies, efficiency in production has been recognized for transforming the landscape towards climate justice, and a sustainable future.

About India Energy Forum

• It is an Indian Organization which represents the energy sector as a whole.
• It was established in October 2001 and has its headquarters at New Delhi and most of the major public and private sector organizations in Power, Oil and Gas, Coal and Renewable Energy have become its members.
• It serves as a catalyst for the development of a sustainable and competitive energy sector in India.
• It serves as an independent advocate of the industry promoting practical solutions to problems affecting project development and finance in India. The Forum works with companies and Government (Centre and States) to achieve consensus on such issues as regulatory structures and policies and the role of public organizations.
• It works closely with multilateral and domestic companies and agencies to ensure that their products and services are responsive to the needs of the project development in India.

Additional Information

CERAWeek

• CERAWeek by IHS Markit has become the world’s premier energy event.
• It stands for Cambridge Energy Research Associates and was founded in 1983 at Cambridge.
• IHS Markit is a dynamic team that includes more than 5,000 analysts, data scientists, financial experts and industry specialists. Its global information expertise spans numerous industries, including leading positions in finance, energy and transportation.