What’s behind India’s power crisis?

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India is the world’s third-largest producer of electricity, and three-quarters of this electricity comes from coal-based thermal power plants. But despite having one of the world’s largest coal reserves, the country is often teetering on the brink of a power crisis. Last year, it was an unexpected surge in demand as the economy picked up after a deadly Covid wave; this year, it’s been an earlier-than-expected intense heatwave coupled with the war in Ukraine that is making coal imports costly and unaffordable. In fact, the power crisis rose to such a level that over 100 passenger trains had to be cancelled to make way for coal carriages. So, does India’s coal shortage stem from a lack of proper risk allocation, inefficient coal production, or a failure to anticipate a surge in demand? In this edition of WorklifeIndia, we discuss what’s behind India’s power crisis. Presenter: Devina Gupta Contributors: Partha Bhattacharya, former chairman & managing director, Coal India; Manmohan Gaind, vice-president, Manesar Industries Welfare Association; Karthik Ganesan, fellow and director, research coordination, CEEW