Model Question and Answers for APSC | The question of India’s Energy Security constitutes the most important part of India’s economic progress. Analyze India’s energy policy cooperation with West Asian Countries.

Ans: Energy security of a nation is the relationship between the safety of the nation and the availability of natural resources for energy consumption. It is necessary for the economy to have access to inexpensive energy in order to run properly.

Energy security and economic development are intricately intertwined. And in the case of India, Energy Security is the most essential aspect of economic development.

Importance of Western Asia:

• India imports oil primarily from west Asian nations such as Qatar, Iran, and Saudi Arabia.
• In addition to crude oil, India had also inked trade agreements for dealing with natural gas from these And India currently holds a prominent position in the global export of refined oil.
• India had struck a natural gas trading agreement with Qatar.
• India buys crude oil from Saudi Arab.
• Iran was India's largest source of oil imports prior to the issue of nuclear deal violations and the American blockade.
• Iraq has replaced Iran in terms of India's total oil imports.

Problems:

• Future difficulties may arise if energy security is dependent on another country. Iran was a previous supplier of crude oil to India. It was the top importer of oil into Due to diplomatic considerations, India no longer imports from that particular country, which has affected India's energy security until a replacement is found.

• Internal oil price increases are caused by a heavy reliance on imports, which prevents a nation from being self-sufficient.

India receives oil from various countries other than those in west Asia, including Venezuela, Cuba, Brunei, Vietnam, and African nations. To achieve energy security, it is necessary to establish a diversification policy that will attract additional oil exporting nations.