Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Thursday said that India is projected to become the world’s third-largest energy consumer by 2020 after the US and China.
Speaking at the seminar on Energy Conservation-Energy Security organised by Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial Foundation here, the minister said that currently, India is the fifth largest energy consumer in the world with per capita primary energy consumption of 682 kWh against the world average in 2200 kWh.
The energy requirement is expected to grow in the coming years and it is projected that India would become third largest energy consumer by 2020 after the US and China.
Fossil fuels play a major role in meeting the energy demand of the nation; Indian economy is constantly challenged in sourcing primary energy. Currently, over 70 per cent of the India’s oil needs are being met by imports, the minister informed. The present capacity has crossed 2 lakh MW in power generation in the country which itself is a landmark in the history of power sector in India. More than 80,000 MW worth power generating stations were under the construction during the 12th plan.
Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said that the per capita carbon dioxide emission in India is way below the levels of developed countries. “As of today, India is not among the countries which need to arrest the level of carbon emission to a specified rate.”
Foundation president Sunil Shastri said energy has become an important resource and there is need to conserve it, otherwise, it could lead to imbalance. “Making the country as a self sufficient in energy is the biggest challenge before us,” he said.
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