Realising the Opportunity: At present, when the prices are low for importing natural gas, India should take advantage and enter into contracts with the countries rich in natural gas resources such as Iran, Turkmenistan and Myanmar to bring gas to India through pipelines.
- More aggressive and dynamic reforms is what is needed in the field.
- To go ahead, need to reform our whole structure (subsidies) to improve the production.
Putting the producers and buyers in charge: Government should allow the producers and buyers more control of the price. ONGC shall undergo reforms in terms of its marketing and pricing freedom, E-bidding etc.
Alternative: No doubt natural gas is a cleaner fuel but cannot be called a green fuel, that’s why more inclination should be there towards electricity; more dependence on electricity should be there as compared to natural gas or any other fuel.
Government as a facilitator: The government should act as a facilitator and improve quality and quantity of the resources available.
Self-reliance: Infrastructure and facilities should be provided within the country. The import dependence of 55% should be taken on a serious note and should be brought down.
Subsidy in fertilizers: The government should take action accordingly so that fertiliser subsidy goes directly into farmers account and fertilizer industry doesn’t get subsidized so that they too could have their freedom in marketing and pricing.
Extend to the entire gas sector: The policy should be extended to the entire gas sector; the government should move away from administrative price mechanism (APM).
It is evident that clean energy transitions are underway – and it’s also a signal that we have the opportunity to meaningfully move the needle on emissions through more ambitious policies and investments. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating, as governments do play an important role in the growth of the energy sector in any country. Given the fact that the market in India is still nascent, there is always this concern of how effective these measures can be. With domestic production of gas stagnating and consumption growing at a CAGR of 4.5 per cent, there’s still a long way to go for transforming the economy to a gas-based one.
