Rahul Tongia

India is targeting an ambitious GDP growth rate of 8 per cent and for that the power sector needs to grow in tandem.This paper makes an assessment of the potential for capacity addition from various energy sources such as coal,natural gas, hydro, wind and biomass and concludes that these sources will be found wanting in closing the gap between desired growth and business as usual growth. In this background, the recent India-US declaration on cooperation in nuclear power provides an opportunity for accelerated growth.

Crude oil prices recently crossed US$ 75/bbl, fuelling serious concerns whether India’s rapidly expanding economy can sustain a high and growing level of crude imports There are also serious concerns of global warming from burning of fossil fuels .It may be time for India to explore options which can substitute petrol and diesel and are climate-friendly In a series of two articles, we examine a few such technology and policy options Part I focus on options for substituting petrol by ethanol from sugarcane: molasses, sugarcane juice and cellulose (bagasse) Part II analyses options for diesel