Event: Panel Discussion
Venue: Council Room, CHRIST (Deemed To Be University)
Date and Time: 19 September 2018; 12 to 1.30 pm

The Department of International Studies and History, CHRIST (Deemed to Be University) organised a panel discussion on the theme “Politics of Energy: India's Energy Policy and the Way Forward” on 19 September 2018. The panel featured faculty members Dr. Manoharan N, Dr. Koiremba Singh and Dr. Madhumati Deshpande.

The event started with Dr. Manoharan's welcome to the gathering and an overview of energy demand at the global and national levels with the support of some vital statistics. He then analytically outlined India’s latest National Energy Policy of 2017: its objectives, and points of intervention.

He was followed by Dr. Madhumati Deshpande who focused on the politics of energy, both internal and international. Dr. Deshpande spoke of how the world stays focused on the infatuating fuel prices and the fluctuating aspect of coal prices. She also detailed the timeline of oil wells and resources discovery, first in the American continent and later, in the Arab countries.

Looking at the way forward, Dr. Koiremba Singh elaborated on available alternative energy sources. According to Dr. Singh, the most important aspect of looking at energy alternative to conventional sources of energy is the amalgamation of availability, accessibility, affordability and acceptability. He spoke on how India has sufficient sources of energy, but lacked in its utilization due to acute shortage of skills, techniques, tools and methods, required to exploit resources.

The session ended after a brief round of interactions between the panellists and the audience.