Energy is closely linked with human development. For a country like ours, where a sizable fraction of our population is yet to see the fruits of development, access to affordable and dependable energy is of crucial importance. Further, to realize aspirations of a quality of life comparable with developed countries, our energy usage must go up at least by a factor of five.

This is a formidable challenge in view of our heavy dependence on energy imports and issues of sustainability as well as climate change. There are also issues of air quality at energy use points needing recourse to cleaner energy forms. To address energy related challenges, several new energy resources are under development. New technologies, deployment strategies and business innovations are evolving. Energy security issues are however likely to become more critical in years to come particularly in a country like ours, simply because of the fact that our unmet needs are the highest in the world.

Present and future energy resources, related technologies for their exploration – production –transformation –supply and use,energy markets, energy infrastructure, policy regimesat regional, national and international levels etc. are continuously evolving. It is necessary to understand all inter-related issues for a more informed decision making by concerned stake