India has the fifth largest electricity generation capacity in the world
India has the 3rd largest T & D network in the world
India is the 6th largest energy consumer in the world

Electricity is the most important infrastructural input in the development and growth of economy. India is the third largest producer of electricity in Asia. India is the world’s sixth largest energy consumer. Not only do we require increased capacity for generation of electric power, but thermal and hydro capacity also need modernisation and augmentation.  India’s investment requirements for power generation and transmission will be tune of  $200 billion, to be able to fulfill projected demand by 2012. At present, India,  which posted a 9.4% GDP growth last fiscal, has an installed capacity of 132,110 mw whichwas 1362MW in 1947  .

This sector is dominated primarily by Public Sector Undertakings. The state and Central Government account for 58% and 32% of the generation capacity respectively while the private sector accounts for a mere 10%. A major part of the transmission and distribution factors are handled by the state utilities. As against the targeted 41,000 MW in the tenth five year plan , only 22,000 MW was added during the five years till 2007.The country failed to add fresh capacity at regular intervals through policy liberalisation. This led to huge demand-supply gap, which can not be bridged in the near future

Three conventional energy forms – coal, oil and gas – will continue to remain high in India in the next few decades even if the contribution of hydro, nuclear, and renewable energy increases significantly. Although the contribution of hydro, nuclear and renewable energy forms together may increase by about six times in the next three decades, these sources can at most contribute to a mere 4.5 per cent of the total energy requirements.

CHALLENGES:
While the Indian power sector is limbing, the undemocratic China has been building power capacity at a dramatic rate. China added 95,000 mw in 2006 alone, almost the total capacity of India. Government is aiming to create a new generation capacity of 78,000 mw under the 11th Plan(2007-2012)
Electricity industry is capital-intensive having long gestation period. For construction of a power plant, there required at least 30 clearances from various ministries and departments.

National Power Project Management Board (NPPMB):

With a colossal target of augmenting power generation capacity by 76,000 MW in the next five years, the government today announced setting up of a National Power Project Management Board (NPPMB) to speed up execution of all projects on time.