The Modi government has made a promising start in addressing key energy concerns like the shortage of coal, fuel subsidies, and climate change. It now needs to address the critical and mounting losses of power distribution companies. It further needs to fine tune its existing policies on oil security, renewable energy, and nuclear power.
When the Modi government took office in May 2014, India faced a severe coal shortage. 100 thermal power plants had coal stock for an average of 14 days while 22 plants operated with less than 7 days’ stock. This has since increased to average coal stocks of 24 days, and the government’s other major achievement in the coal sector has been the coal block auction of 2015 to ensure a transparent allocation of a contentious natural resource.