India should reduce its dependency on fossil fuel
Summary
In this article, we will discuss how much we rely on other countries for our energy needs. The high reliance on Oil imports hampering the health of the Indian economy in many ways. Time has come we should seriously work for the traditional energy sources. Wind solar and hydropower are emerging as the best alternative for fossil fuel. India spends Billions of dollars every year on crude oil procurement. We should spend at least some portion of this money on unconventional energy sources.How much we rely on oil imports?
India the fifth largest economy of the world rely highly on fossil fuel to meet its energy demand. India ranked third in the list of a top crude oil-importing country China and the USA being the number one and two. Although India produces crude oil within its territory, thanks to the geographical diversity it is insufficient for a country of 2.3 billion population. Due to rising domestic demand, the oil import of India is gradually increasing. The oil comprises 82% of the total imports of India. These data have established the high dependency of India on oil import.Let's see what are the impact of this high dependency
we can witness the impact mainly in two perspective
1.Economic Impact
2.Environmental Impact
Economic Impacts
Crude oil is the major contributor to India's growing current account deficit. (The current account deficit is a measurement of a country’s trade where the value of the goods and services it imports exceeds the value of the products it exports).The increasing current account deficit is detrimental to the health of the economy. The current account leads to a depreciation of the currency and creates a bad outlook for the economy. If this problem persists for a longer period it discourages foreign investors to invest in that country.
Inflaton
In India general trend is when the oil prices in the international market decrease the benefit is not transferred to the end consumer. India is among the topmost countries where the excise duty is highest. These high taxes result in increasing prices of goods and services. The effect of high fuel prices can easily be seen in indices such as the Consumer price index and Wholesale price index, the two major indicators of inflation in India.Impact on citizens
To accommodate the increasing fuel prices the consumer has to cut down its expenses on food, traveling and entertainment. This results in decreasing demand and ultimately hit the supply side. The decreasing demands result in the negative growth of industries and job losses.Forex reserves
India is at fifth position in terms of foreign exchange reserves in the world. According to recent data, India has a reserve of 476 billion USD. A major chunk of the foreign reserves is being spent on the payment of crude oil. As we are well aware of the fact that most international transactions take place in dollars,If a country spent most of the foreign reserves in one commodity it has to cut down its expense on other essential imports.Effects of Petroleum product on the environment
Six out of the ten most polluted cities in the world are in India.Every year 2 million people in die due to pollution in India . Automobile contributes 27% in air pollution in India. These are some figures that indicate how pollution is deeply rooted in our country . If we keep relying on fossil fuel for long and don't work on implementing the alternatives the situation is going to be worst. Relaxed environmental norms, loopholes in the regulation of emission control rules .poor implementation of environment protection acts are some of the major reasons of pollution in India.
Excessive use of fossil fuels is hitting us in many ways some of them are following
Air quality
The use of petrol and diesel increases the level of poisonous gas such as carbon dioxide , carbon monoxide .and other greenhouse gases. Due to poor air quality in our country, people suffer a lot due to respiratory ailments like asthma. Excessive use of fuels lead to an increase in particulate matter which is very harmful to human health.
Fuel production and refinery
Most of the oil fields are located in certain geographical zones . During crude oil production, it creates enormous pressure on the flora and fauna of that region. Production is not the end then the crude transported to different part of the world via ship and flights. The shipping also creates stress on the environment.IN some cases ships sank in the middle of the ocean and wreak havoc in the wildlife of that region.
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