In this episode, Pranav sits down with Dr. Rohit Chandra, Assistant Professor at IIT Delhi, to understand the political economy and history shaping India’s past, present, and future energy sectors.
We cover:
- How Cold War politics shaped early energy choices, how the national grid emerged from the railways, the true reasons behind coal nationalization, and the reality of managing large PSUs.
- It also covers DISCOM load shedding, the centralization of solar power, the impact of the green transition on coal-belt states, and social resilience during energy crises.
Timestamps
0:00 Introduction
1:11 India's Energy Landscape in the 1960s
8:42 American vs. Soviet Influence on India's Energy Policy
14:33 NCDC and the Fragmented Coal Market
17:14 The Road to Coal Nationalization
23:20 Vertical Integration and the PSU Structure
32:41 The 1970s Oil Crisis and Nationalization of Coal & Banks
37:27 The Case for Coal Nationalization
42:04 Soviet Technology and the Rise of Opencast Mining
58:30 Development Banks and Rural Financing
1:07:04 Critiquing India's Renewable Energy Approach
1:12:22 Oil Majors, Conglomerates, and the Renewable Pivot
1:21:41 Why Renewable Build-Out Is Concentrated in Six States
1:33:48 CBAM and the Future of Indian Steel Exports
1:40:44 Energy Sovereignty in a Deglobalizing World
1:48:58 The Upcoming Book and Closing Thoughts