We stand out as an exception. The Planning Commission has prepared an integrated energy policy document but there is little evidence that its contents are the touchstones of energy policy. There is certainly no one energy czar in the country with the executive mandate to pull together the divergent threads that originate from the five ministries handling energy related issues (ministries of petroleum, coal, non-conventional, atomic and power)! And no one therefore with the authority (other than the PM) to push the country in the direction of sustainable energy security.

In this context, I was somewhat disappointed by the budget speech. The finance minister did in the main offer a pragmatic and balanced budget. He walked well the tightrope between the pressures of an election year and the importance of maintaining the momentum of growth. He opened the spigots of finance but without structurally undermining the requirements of fiscal prudence. And he met expectations by not doing anything radically unexpected. But in the specific context of energy he disappointed by not spelling out the contours of an energy future.

I accept that the budget speech is not the occasion for a digression on energy. And that the FM is not the responsible minister to pronounce on the direction of energy policy. But given that the budget speech is the closest we have to a nationally televised and commented ‘state of the union’ message; and given the criticality of this issue, I had hoped the budget speech would include a paragraph that brought coherence to energy policy and through a set of specific fiscal incentives and investment proposals move us more aggressively in the direction of a non-fossil fuel future.

... contd.