Achilles heel showing some signs of soreness, again
Reliance on imported energy, especially crude petroleum, has been one of the weakest aspects of the Indian economy for the past many decades. Though we have made significant progress in the adoption of renewable and clean sources of energy, about 70% of our primary energy demand is still met by coal and crude oil. Renewable energy meets less than 5% of the primary energy and is mostly replacing traditional biomass in the overall primary energy mix. India meets most of its petroleum requirements through the import of crude oil. Notwithstanding the ethanol blending policy, in FY23, over 87% of the domestic petroleum consumption requirements were met through imported crude oil; up from 83.8% in FY19. Despite incentives and many policy changes, domestic oil production in India has consistently declined since peaking in 2011. The current annual production of crude oil in India is around 620 thousand barrels a day; the same level it was in 1995-96, before the New Exploration Licensing ...