With rising crude oil prices, depreciating Indian currency and increasing oil imports, we stare at an acute prospect of having to incur huge foreign exchange outgo to buy expensive energy. Energy security has become synonymous with national security. He inaugurated a new Advanced Crude Oil Research Centre at the Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP), Dehradun, on Monday.
Great institutions make a great nation. Our visionary leaders laid the foundation of great institutions like Indian Institutes of Technologies, Indian Institutes of Managements and a huge network of national laboratories including CSIR laboratories. Research institutions in the energy sector have a responsibility to develop cutting edge technologies to make our industry globally competitive. Remember that a country like Japan, who is completely dependent on others to meet their energy requirements, is an exporter of high-end technologies. We as a nation must achieve technology security. You have a big contribution to make to turn this vision into reality. Complement your efforts by pursuing knowledge networking across the scientific community. I wish the scientists all success in their future endeavors.
It has been projected that by 2030, we would have to meet 90 per cent of crude oil, 60 per cent of natural gas and 57 per cent of coal requirements through imports. He is yet to hear a debate by our scientists and technologists as to how our country can become self-sufficient in energy. Even the more optimistic experts point out that India has insufficient energy resources. A few years ago, a similar debate was heard in the US. But US has proved everyone wrong as it has turned itself from being a huge net energy importer to being self-sufficient through the discovery of shale gas. This has been possible because of a crucial technological breakthrough in efficient recovery of shale gas.
Technology commands enormous power to effect major transformation. Many relatively weak countries have transformed into emerging economies within a short span of time on the strength of technology. Science and technology is duly recognized as the vehicle to take India into the front ranking nations of the world. Our future development depends on our ability to devise efficient processes for the industrial sector and better solutions for governance. Though innovation is a long standing feature of our civilization; though there is no dearth of ingenuity in our people; we today lag behind the advanced nations in innovation activity. A new Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, adopted this year, seeks to mobilise all forces for India’s transition to a knowledge powerhouse. Our innovations should aim at converting knowledge into economic wealth and social good.
The recent deluge in Uttarakhand is a wakeup call for all of us. We need energy to sustain growth but it has to be ecologically safe. It also has to be affordable for our countrymen. These are the defining parameters for developing future technologies. These are stiff challenges indeed; but they are also exciting opportunities for our research community, including the scientists of this great Institute. During my visit to the Advanced Crude Oil Research Centre, I was glad to observe several eco-friendly innovations, particularly the technology to convert waste plastic to fuel and for making jet fuel from non-edible vegetable oils.
Talking about the laboratory, Mukherjee said that the commendable performance of this laboratory has raised the expectations of the industry. As the oil sector in our country develops further, it will be required to process heavier and more complex crudes. A new Research Centre at the IIP, which has the latest infrastructure for finger printing of crude and allied products and for exploring innovative ways to develop future fuels, will help meet our requirements. I am confident that it will serve its intended purpose of providing critical assistance to the oil industry and supporting the technological ambitions of our nation.