The event featured:

● Special Lecture by Mr Gurdeep Singh

Topic: Energy Imperatives for India

● Release of the CRG Monograph

Topic: Natural Resources Sharing in India: Issues – by Mr Sanjay Prasad

● Fireside chat with Mr Gurdeep Singh and Mr Sanjay Prasad

Topic: Policy Atmanirbharata: Energy and Minerals


Energy issues in India have become extremely challenging because of global developments. While India has achieved a lot in establishing its Energy security, the latest challenges have risen from external sources, namely the US-Iran war and prospects of war escalating in Europe and Russia. The impact is going to be felt in India on its energy strategy for years to come. This will also create the need for sharp Regulatory responses.  Also, as nations increasingly adopt economic policies prioritizing domestic industries and restrict global trade due to the geo-political tensions, India needs urgent actions to ensure there is a reliable supply of minerals, a federally acceptable mining policy that meets the complicated needs of its energy supply, security and transition to Green Energy.

Given the importance of Energy and Mining in the current context for India, the Centre for Regulatory Governance (CRG) initiated a policy dialogue centered on India’s critical energy imperatives, natural resource sharing, and regulatory frameworks. The event featured a Special Lecture by Mr Gurdeep Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, NTPC Limited and the release of a CRG policy monograph. 

In an interactive Fireside Chat with Mr Gurdeep Singh and Mr Sanjay Prasad, moderated by Prof. Subhomoy Bhattacharjee, Director, CRG, the discussions harped on issues related to India's energy sector and natural resource governance. The panel addressed the regulatory control of coal, generation, and distribution by the state, while exploring the surging electricity demand driven by economic growth, industrial expansion, and cooling needs. The challenges related to renewable energy, managing grid stability and the future and role of nuclear power were also discussed. It brought together perspectives from public administration, industry leadership, and academic research.


The main topics discussed during the event related to:


● The demand surge for Energy in Indian context driven by factors like growth of economy, boom of data centres, AI, and a massive increase in space cooling needs.

● The challenges associated with the rapid growth of solar and renewable capacity.

● The heavy regulation of the Power sector highlighting issues surrounding distribution, political subsidies, regulatory assets, and the distinction between commercial enterprise and public distribution.

● Discussions also related to India's ambitious targets for nuclear energy (aiming for 100 gigawatts by 2047). The debate also focussed on small modular reactors (SMRs) versus proven conventional pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs), and green hydrogen/chemical initiatives. 

● The release of the CRG monograph on natural resource sharing. The report analyzes the tensions between the Union and the State Governments on the legal, administrative and constitutional fronts, when it comes to sharing of natural resources like minerals. Recent court rulings and new laws have tended to create friction between the Central and the State Governments on financial issues. The author, in this article, attempts to find a balance between the two, so that Central Government has resources for its big projects, while the State Governments too, do not lose out on the monetary aspects for their budgetary needs. 


We shall be uploading the details of the Special Lecture, the released Monograph and the Fireside Chat in CRG website: https://crg.jgu.edu.in/.