Is the China-backed lobby behind the ongoing agitation against India’s energy security?

New Delhi. In both India and China, severe coal shortages have been reported in the past few weeks. However, while India has been able to ensure energy security through immediate measures, more than half of China is witnessing power failures and power cuts.

With the festive season and winters about to begin, there will be a huge demand for manufactured goods in both India and China. While India’s energy crisis or its side effects will be barely visible, Goldmansax estimates China’s GDP growth to be zero percent!
This does not bode well for a section of lobbyists working in the interests of international forces and unfriendly nations.

For example, a group of so-called activists has decided to take out a march against coal mines of various state companies from October 2. Since they have no valid arguments, the lobbyists are naming the environment! They claim that the proposed coal mines in Chhattisgarh will have a bad effect on the environment.
Interestingly, these lobbyists have allowed large central government-owned coal mining companies for decades.

But now they are opposing the state government power companies which are trying to ensure fuel supply only for continuous availability of power. Moreover, these advocates remained silent for years even after several coal mines were identified simultaneously by the Center and the state of Chhattisgarh. But now they are trying to derail those plans of India, which are trying to effectively deal with power shortage.

This will provide an opportunity to unfriendly China to show to the world that India is also facing power shortage and MNCs should not shift their manufacturing units to India. Moreover, lobbyists are trying to undermine India in comparison to China who are ready to fight. All this is happening despite the fact that China has been the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal.

And that too without any responsibility or accountability. China’s capital Beijing and other large cities have received unwanted attention in the past few years due to the thick blanket of haze during the peak winter season. Moreover, China does not want to lose its identity as the manufacturing capital of the world, which is already facing a tough challenge from India. Many international corporates have today expressed their desire to shift their bases from China to India, which has worried China.

Meanwhile, India, the country with the largest coal reserves in the world, continues to strive to ensure energy security through responsible mining, so as not only for its domestic needs, but also for the manufacturing and service sectors that generate employment. ensure energy security. However, activists with vested interests are opposing the coal mining sector without examining its importance in the Indian context. Needless to say that Indian mining sector taxes,

It is contributing significantly through tariffs and employment opportunities for the vast majority of the population. Simultaneously, a strong and robust legal and regulatory framework has compelled the mining sector to perform better and responsibly.
If the Chinese ploy to incite vested Indian activists succeeds, we will either have to live in the dark ages or increase our dependence on coal imports, which will prove to be a major blow to both our call for self-reliance and foreign exchange reserves. Will happen.

Furthermore, China, under its authoritarian regime, chose to generate electricity without any credible checks on emission standards, while India, in contrast, already has a sound and robust system to deal with such issues. There are many empowered entities in India whose sole job is to ensure that power producers are not causing any harm to the ecology and that waste is disposed of in a responsible and prescribed manner.

We should also consider some key facts related to overall energy consumption by developed countries as compared to India. A World Bank report states that the global electricity consumption per capita is 3081 units. In the US and China, which are among the largest producers and consumers of electricity, the average annual consumption is 12,154 units and 5312 units, respectively. While the second most populous country in the world, India has a per capita electricity consumption of only 935 units.

So we must understand the importance of coal to improve the standard of living of 138 crore people of India, to meet the maximum demand and increase the availability of electricity. Needless to say, India has meanwhile set a very high and ambitious target to generate renewable energy. It has begun the process of striking a balance between conventional energy and renewable energy for its population and economy, and aims to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.

Last, but the important point is that coal has been flagged as a bad fuel by the nations that nations have developed because of irresponsible consumption of coal not only over years, but decades and centuries. Today these countries are forcing developing countries like India to stay away from coal and are not even ready to recognize the steps taken by India to control emissions. The tactics being adopted by China and its lobbyists across the world and in India is yet another attempt to derail our growth engine.