Courtesy: The Wire
India and Sri Lanka recently signed six energy agreements, including plans for an oil pipeline from India to Sri Lanka, electricity grid connectivity, and cooperation in renewable energy. Sri Lanka can benefit from India's cost-effective oil sourcing and processing and pay for it in rupees, easing its balance of payments crisis. Its wider use of the Rupee fulfills a long term objective for Indian policymakers.
Courtesy: epSos.de / Flickr
Developments in electric vehicles, battery technology, and renewable energy can make oil, coal, nuclear power interchangeable, if the appropriate technology is developed and marketed well. And since the benefits include a permanent cap on energy prices, India must promote its own industries in these areas and not remain a passive beneficiary.
In the global hunt for energy security, nuclear energy has grown increasingly relevant as countries struggle to find sustainable sources of energy. The ambitious plans to build the world’s biggest nuclear plant in Jaitapur may prove to be the litmus test that defines the role of nuclear energy in India's future.