Growing at a clipping pace of 8-9% per year, India is a country that is fast becoming a power to reckon with in the world. At this rate of growth, it could be in the top five economies of the world within the next decade. But all these could be undone if the country does not have access to abundant energy. And there lies the catch.

India imports over 70% of all its fossil fuel requirements. Not only is it a drain on its forex reserves (oil imports account for over 30% of India's total import bill!), but it also necessitates India to be bedfellows with undesirable countries and regimes (in middle east and Africa).

On one hand, India is increasing its emphasis on renewable energy sources, thought it is expected that it will be decades before such sources start contributing reasonable amounts of demand, and on the other, India is trying to diversity its sources of fossil fuels. The latter strategy still implies that it has to be nice to not-so-nice regimes, but that is reality for you.

Well, where there is oil, there are no good regimes. What do you think countries like India (which have little fossil fuel reserves of their own) do?