Engineering India’s Energy Sovereignty

By Govindraj Ethiraj

An energy crisis is now upon us, and the hard truth is that it will get worse in the coming weeks and months before it gets better.

We are no longer dealing in theoretical scenarios.

A structural energy reset has been forced upon the country, compelling a painful reduction in consumption, alongside an abrupt and disruptive switch of fuels, for instance, to kerosene and firewood.

As we navigate this difficult period, we must also accept that the ultimate solution will not come from short-term subsidies or geopolitical successes, like getting a few more ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

It will come from actual, homegrown engineering.

CSIR's Local Gas Breakthrough

This is why the work of state-backed institutions like the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) — and scientists like Dr Ashish Lele — has suddenly become a matter of paramount national and economic security.

Last week on The Core Report, I spoke with Dr Lele, who directs the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) in Pune.

The NCL is a critical node in the CSIR’s sprawling network, which encompasses 37 national laboratories, 39 outreach centers, one Innovation Complex, and three units.

With some 3,500 scientists and 4,000 technical and support personnel, the CSIR quietly drives research ranging from oceanography and genomics to aeronautics and, crucially, energy.

Dr Lele and his team are currently testing a gas known as dimethyl ether (DME), a compound that holds the potential to drastically reduce India's heavy reliance on imported Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).

The underlying technology is relatively elegant. As Dr Lele describes, it requires only one or two reactors and distillation columns and is thus significantly simpler than standard refinery operations.

The team’s pilot project is currently operating at around 250 kg per day. The next critical technological milestone is a demonstration plant, which Dr Lele notes could be operational within six months once funded.

Moving to full commercial production — where DME could substitute LPG at a macroeconomic scale — is the inevitable next step.

This will require considerable capital expenditure, likely from major oil marketing companies utilising traditional supply chains. However, India is not strictly bound to centralized corporate production.

According to Dr Lele, the country could leverage its abundant, decentralised woody biomass. By gasifying this biomass into syngas, converting it to methanol, and finally to DME, India could localise its fuel supply.

Because the technology produces DME at 10-bar pressure, it can be dispensed directly into cylinders at any of India’s 220-plus local bottling plants. This entirely bypasses the need for massive, capital-intensive centralized distribution networks.

Innovations Beyond Global Conflict

While the exact market readiness and affordability of this localised model remain to be fully mapped out, the technology is within our reach.

But it highlights a much larger structural reality: we cannot expect private capital to fund—or even care about—this kind of long-term, foundational research.

Private markets are excellent at scaling proven innovations, but they are notoriously poor at incubating them.

Furthermore, we can no longer look to the West for a steady pipeline of technological miracles.

The United States, traditionally the world's primary engine for research and innovation, has drastically cut back on research funding across the board, axing entire scientific departments altogether in the last year.

India faces a deeply unique set of challenges in its energy mix.

Our renewable energy production has accelerated dramatically, but the absence of grid-scale storage technology means the sun and wind cannot serve us 24 hours a day, to say nothing of our ongoing power evacuation hurdles.

We desperately need more homegrown fuels and innovations.

Dr Lele’s work on cooking gas — a fuel integral to millions of Indian households and commercial kitchens — is just one piece of the puzzle.

Solving Local Energy Puzzles

A few weeks ago, Engineers India Limited (EIL) Chairperson Vartika Shukla told me about a project her team was immensely proud of: engineering a cheaper, lighter, and more user-friendly solar cooker.

It is a striking juxtaposition. EIL is an institution that helps design nuclear reactors and mega-refineries, yet it is simultaneously applying its vast engineering prowess to solve grassroots energy challenges for the everyday consumer.

Whether it is synthesizing entirely new fuels or innovating the basic implements powered by them, the energy crisis of 2026 is delivering a blunt lesson.

To secure our economic future, we must stay deeply invested in, and rapidly expand, our own scientific and industrial capacity.

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Rs 1 lakh crore

That’s how much the combined market capitalisation of five of India’s top 10 firms declined last week, with HDFC Bank taking the biggest hit.

Laggards:
HDFC Bank: lost Rs 0.56 lakh crore
Hindustan Unilever: lost Rs 0.17 lakh crore
Bajaj Finance: lost Rs 0.15 lakh crore
TCS: lost Rs 0.07 lakh crore
ICICI Bank: lost Rs 0.06 lakh crore

Winners:
Reliance: gained Rs 0.46 lakh crore
Bharti Airtel: gained Rs 0.25 lakh crore
SBI: gained Rs 0.11 lakh crore
LIC: gained Rs 0.03 lakh crore
Infosys: gained Rs 0.03 lakh crore

HDFC Bank’s valuation dropped after its chairman resigned, triggering governance concerns. 

Outcome: A broader market selloff dragged stocks lower. Rising crude oil prices, triggered by geopolitical tensions in West Asia, raised inflation fears and pressured equities. Foreign investors also continued pulling money out of Indian markets, adding to the decline.

At the same time, global cues remained weak. Higher-for-longer interest rate expectations in the US and a strengthening dollar pressured emerging market flows, including India.

Bracing For Prolonged Pain

The West Asia conflict reached a critical breaking point Sunday as President Donald Trump threatened to obliterate Iran’s power plants unless the Strait of Hormuz is fully reopened within 48 hours, Reuters reported. This ultimatum followed air raid sirens across Israel, warning of incoming missiles from Iran, after missile barrages hit Israeli towns of Arad and Dimona.

Iran countered by vowing to strike the energy and water systems of its Gulf neighbors — a move that would be catastrophic for desert cities reliant on desalination.

Overview: The domestic fallout in India is already severe, with urea plants running at half capacity following force majeure declarations by Petronet LNG. This disruption has triggered supply curtailments by GAIL and IOC, threatening a massive fertilizer crisis.

The government said it has reviewed mitigation strategy for the country. Key priorities include stabilising the Kharif season, diversifying industrial imports, and ensuring coal-backed power remains resilient against global shocks.

Setup: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh warned that no country will remain unaffected by the escalating instability.

Foreign Funds Flee

Foreign investors have offloaded a staggering Rs 88,180 crore from Indian equities this March, marking a relentless daily sell-off. Total 2026 outflows have now breached the Rs 1 trillion mark, driven by a risk-off flight to safety as West Asia tensions push Brent crude above USD 100.

Context: This exodus is fueled by a weakening rupee — now hovering near Rs 92 against the dollar — and spiking US Treasury yields, which have drained liquidity from emerging markets.

Setting: Market stability remains tethered to geopolitics. While domestic institutional investors provide a cushion, experts at Geojit and Angel One predict sustained volatility. A reversal in FPI flows is unlikely until the Strait of Hormuz stabilises and global crude prices retreat from their current crisis levels.

The Heat Is Back And Rising Fast

Northwest India will likely see temperatures rise sharply over the next five days, with parts of Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana expected to record increases of 6-8°C, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). 

Fast Facts: Gujarat could see a 3-5°C rise, while central India, including Madhya Pradesh, may warm by 2-4°C. Maharashtra, especially Vidarbha and Marathwada, may also see temperatures climb by up to 5°C.

In Delhi, the IMD expects the maximum temperature to rise by 4-6°C over the next 24 hours, followed by a further 3-4°C increase over the next two days. The city will likely see partly cloudy skies turning cloudy by night, with temperatures around 31°C and a minimum near 15°C.

Flashpoint: This warming follows recent showers and thunderstorms across the country. The IMD says Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand will continue to receive light rain and snowfall due to an active western disturbance. 

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