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As India works towards its goal of becoming a developed economy by 2047, the role of energy data in shaping economic policy is gaining prominence. Policymakers, regulators, financiers and market participants discussed how data-driven energy decisions can support long-term economic growth at the Leadership Spotlight Session on ‘Empowering Economic Policy with Energy Data’ at the India Energy Week 2026 in Goa on Thursday.
Setting the context, Vishrut Rana, Asia Pacific Economist, S&P Global, highlighted the strong correlation between per capita energy consumption and GDP growth. With India’s per capita income still relatively low but rising rapidly, energy demand is expected to grow exponentially driven not just by population and urbanisation, but also by energy-intensive growth drivers such as artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing and digital infrastructure.
Opening the discussion, Pankaj Jain, former Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Member Secretary, 8th Pay Commission, stressed that energy cannot be allowed to become a bottleneck to growth. “Energy cannot play catch-up,” he noted, warning that failure to anticipate demand can constrain GDP, while overbuilding can lock up capital and create inefficiencies.
The challenge, he argued, lies in getting the timing right using data to anticipate demand cycles without overshooting. Jain also flagged India’s fragmented energy data landscape as a structural weakness. While petroleum, power, coal and renewables each generate data through different agencies, the lack of integrated, triangulated energy intelligence makes holistic policy planning difficult.
“We have been lucky so far but the scale of future demand requires much sharper coordination,” he said.
From a supply-side perspective, Srikant Nagulapalli, Director General, Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, underscored the continued centrality of hydrocarbons in India’s energy mix even in a decarbonising world. India’s primary energy demand will need to almost triple by 2047, he said, and hydrocarbons will remain indispensable for hard-to-abate sectors such as fertilisers, refineries and heavy industry.
However, India’s heavy import dependence of nearly 88 per cent for oil and 50 per cent for gas adds urgency to domestic exploration. With long gestation periods and high geological risk, timely and accurate energy data becomes critical. Nagulapalli highlighted government efforts to open up exploration acreage, reform upstream policies and digitise decades of geological data onto cloud platforms to enable better investment decisions.
Bringing in the global market lens, Vandana Hari, Founder & CEO, Vanda Insights, pointed out that India’s macroeconomic stability is directly exposed to international oil and gas prices. With nearly 90 per cent crude import dependence, fluctuations in global benchmarks feed straight into inflation, the current account deficit and currency stability.
“India cannot afford to be a passive price-taker,” she argued, advocating probabilistic, scenario-based planning rather than reliance on single-price forecasts.
Hari also cautioned against over-optimism around LNG supply, noting that many global projects may never materialise due to financing and supply-chain constraints. Granular data on project viability, competing buyers particularly Europe and equipment lead times is essential.
“If you order a gas turbine today, you might get delivery in 2032,” she said, warning that poor data can cause India to miss entire energy cycles.
On the renewables front, Pradip Kumar Das, CMD, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), showcased India’s remarkable clean energy scale-up. From just 4 GW of solar capacity in 2014–15 to 138 GW today, renewables have grown at a CAGR of over 22 per cent. Crucially, nearly 80 per cent of this expansion has been driven by the private sector — underscoring the importance of bankable policies, predictable returns and robust financing frameworks.
Yet, Das emphasised that energy independence remains non-negotiable for true economic sovereignty. Technologies like green hydrogen, battery storage and advanced derivatives will require continued policy support until they become commercially viable at scale.
Returning to the theme of energy security amid geopolitical flux, Vandana Hari warned that the world is entering a prolonged period of uncertainty, marked by energy weaponisation and shifting power centres.
In such an environment, historical precedents offer limited guidance. Instead, she argued, India must quantify risks, build contingency scenarios and prepare for tail-risk events — even if their probability appears low.
Closing the session, Pankaj Jain reflected on the realities of policymaking in a decentralised, real-time world. While temporary price volatility may be tolerable, supply disruptions and blackouts are not. “There is an appetite for short-term pain,” he said, “but not for energy insecurity”.
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