Coal

Coal is and will remain the mainstay of commercial energy production.
To ensure more efficient use of coal the following measures have been taken:

    - Rationalization of coal use
    - Participation of private sector encouraged
    - Reforms in pricing
    - Technology upgradation involving:
      coal-washing, improvements in combustion
      technology and the recovery of coal-bed
                                             methane.

Oil

To promote fuel efficiency and conservation, the following measures have been undertaken.

Reduction of gas-flaring
Installation of waste heat-recovery systems
Energy audits
Equipment upgradation
Substitution of diesel with natural gas 
Establishment of PCRA (Petroleum Conservation     Research Association) to increase awareness and     develop fuel-efficient equipment.

Gas

This source of energy is the preferred substitute for coal and oil.

In the residential sector, gas has replaced coal and kerosene
CNG is being introduced as an alternative to petrol and diesel in the transport sector
Major investments have been made in developing infrastructure for long distance and local distribution
Import options are under consideration
The share of gas in the power sector has increased from 2-8%

Hydropower

The government's policy objective is to exploit the huge potential in India's northeast. At present, about 25% of the total installed capacity is accounted for by hydro.

Renewables

India has a very active programme to promote the use of renewable energy. Some salient features of the current renewables situation are given source-wise.

Solar

Photovoltaic systems based on solar energy have been put to a variety of uses in rural electrification, railway signalling, microwave repeaters, power to border outposts and TV transmission and reception.
Grid-connected PV power plants with an aggregate capacity of 1900 kWp have been set up for demand-side management or tail-end voltage support.
A 140 MW integrated solar combined cycle (ISCC) plant is being set up based on solar thermal technology and liquified natural gas.
Solar lanterns, home- and street-lighting systems, stand-alone power plants, and pumping systems are being promoted. So far, 9,20,000 SPV systems with an aggregate capacity of 82 MWp have been installed in the country.
  

Wind energy

India is among the five leading nations in wind power generation
The installed capacity is 1507 MW, and generators of capacity 250-600 kW are manufactured here.
95% of installed wind power capacity is in the private sector. State-of-the-art wind power systems are also being manufactured in the country. In fact, wind turbine equipment is also being exported to other developing and developed countries.

  
Biogas

Biomass power generation plants of a total capacity of about 358 MW have been installed and gasification systems of a total capacity of 42.8 MW have been set up for decentralized energy application.
In rural areas, over 3.2 million biogas plants and 33 million improved stoves have been installed.

  
Small hydro

The total installed capacity of small hydropower projects is 1423 MW.

In addition to these, projects with an aggregate capacity of about 15 MW have been completed using energy recovered from urban, municipal and industrial waste.

Energy efficiency and conservation

India is alive to the importance of improving the efficiency of energy usage and conservation measures.

A Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has been set up to put into operation, conservation measures such as energy standards, labelling of equipment/appliances, building energy codes, and energy audits.

Transport

A major initiative has been the upgradation of vehicular emission norms. A norm called the 'Bharat 2000', similar to Euro I norms were implemented throughout the country on 1 April 2000 for all categories of vehicles manufactured in India.

Emission standards (Bharat Stage II) for motor cars and passenger vehicles came into force in the national capital region (NCR) on 1.4.2000 and has been extended to Mumbai, Chennnai and Kolkata. Apart from reducing pollution locally, these norms result in increased energy efficiency and therefore reduced GHG emissions.
Awareness and training programmes have been undertaken to educate drivers.
The commercial manufacture of battery-operated vehicles has begun in India. This will promote low/no carbon emitting vehicles.
In Delhi, large-scale switching has taken place from petrol and diesel to compressed natural gas (CNG) with over 50 000 vehicles having already been converted.

Industry

This sector has made significant advances in the conservation of energy. Government policies, campaigns by associations of industry and strategic decisions by firms have all contributed to sizeable improvements in the intensity of energy use in industries.

Energy conservation in energy-intensive industries

The major energy-consuming sectors are: steel, cement, caustic soda, brick, aluminium and electric power generation
Measures to improve energy-efficiency include
   - Promotion of fuel-efficient practices and
     equipment
   - Replacement of old and inefficient boilers and other
     oil-operated equipment
   - Fuel switching and technology upgradation
In the cement industry, specific energy intensities declined from 900 kcal/kg thermal energy to 800 kcal/kg and 120 kWh/tonne electrical energy to 90 kWh/tonne with a shift from low capacity energy inefficient wet plants to a high capacity energy efficient dry process during the 1980s. New Indian plants are among those with the lowest power consumption internationally.
In the fertilizer industry, the overall specific energy consumption and capacity utilization of ammonia plants has improved from 14.8 Gcal/mt and 63% respectively, for the year 1979/80 to 10.9 Gcal/mt and 90%, during 1996/97.

Agriculture

Some efforts to mitigate climate change in the agricultural sector have also been undertaken. They are:

Standardization of fuel-efficient pump sets, rectification of existing pump sets.
Rationalization of power tariffs.
Better cultivar practices which will help in reducing N₂O emissions.

Residential

Fuel-efficient equipment/appliances such as kerosene and LPG stoves, compact fluorescent lamps, pumps for lifting water in high-rise buildings are being promoted in the residential sector.

Power sector

India has a diverse mix of power generation technologies with coal dominating the mix and a significant contribution by large hydro. The graph below shows that the share of gas and renewable energy has increased in the mix of power generation capacity. The share of gas in the power capacity has increased from 2% in 1990 to 6% in 2000.

Power generation capacity (Giga Watt)

Reforms in the power sector and targeted technology improvements have helped to enhance the combustion efficiency of conventional coal technology leading to conservation of coal and savings in emissions.
Power sector reforms include regulatory restructuring, corporatization, privatization and unbundling of state-owned utilities. The 1998 Regulatory Commissions Act empowers commissions to rationalize electricity tariffs and promote environmentally-benign policies.
Corporatization is altering state electricity boards from state ownership and administration to business-like corporations as defined by the Indian Company Act, 1956.
The Indian Electricity Act of 1910 and the Electricity Act of 1948 have been amended to permit private participation in the generation and distribution of power.
Privatization in transmission has been encouraged by the recognition of exclusive transmission companies.

Afforestation and land restoration

The basic components of India's forest conservation efforts include protecting existing forests, putting a check on the diversion of forest land for non-forestry purposes, encouraging farm forestry/private area plantations, expanding the protected area network and controlling forest fires.
Forests cover 19.4% of the country's landmass. Forests with a crown cover of more than 40% have been increasing.
The National Forestry Action Programme has been formulated for sustainable forest development and to bring one-third of the country's geographical area under forest/ tree cover as mandated in the National Forest Policy, 1988. A major programme of afforestation is being implemented with the people's participation under the Joint Forest Management.
The National Forest Policy envisages the participation of people in the development of degraded forests to meet their requirements of fuel wood, fodder and timber.
Until 1 September 2000, 10.25 million hectares of forestland had been brought under JFM and 36 165 Village Forest Protection Committees were to be constituted.
The protected area network comprises 88 national parks, 490 wildlife sanctuaries and is spread over 15.3 million hectares.
Twelve biosphere reserves have been set up to protect representative ecosystems. Management plans are being implemented for 20 wetlands with coral reefs and mangroves being given a priority.
The National Wasteland Development Board is responsible for regenerating private, non-forest and degraded land.
The National Afforestation and Eco-development Board is responsible for regenerating degraded forest land, land adjoining forests and ecologically fragile areas.