Growing Pains: Meeting India's Energy Needs in the Face of Limited Fossil Fuels

India needs economic growth of 810% over the next three decades to satisfy its human development needs. With nearly 40% of the Indian people below the poverty line, 400 million people without electricity, and some 700 million people without access to clean cooking fuels according to the National Sample Survey of 20042005, rapid economic growth is essential. But economic growth calls for growth in energy consumption. India has a shortfall of fossil fuel resources and therefore faces a huge challenge in meeting its energy needs. The global concern for climate change would make it difficult to exploit coal, the least scarce of India's hydrocarbon resources.