Energy Intensity analysis of Indian manufacturing industries

Abstract

Energy has been recognized as one of the key inputs for the economic growth and social development of a country. India being one of the largest and rapidly growing developing countries, there is an impending energy crisis which requires immediate measures to be adopted. In this situation the concept of Energy Intensity comes under special focus to ensure energy security in an environmentally sustainable way. Energy Intensity of Indian manufacturing industries is among the highest in the world and stands for enormous energy consumption. Hence, reducing the Energy Intensity of Indian manufacturing industries is one of the challenges. This study attempts to analyse the factors which influence the Energy Intensity of Indian manufacturing industries and how they can be improved to reduce the Energy Intensity. The paper considers five of the largest energy consuming manufacturing industrial sectors in India viz. Aluminium, Cement, Iron & Steel Industries, Textile Industries and Fertilizer Industries and conducts a detailed Energy Intensity analysis using the data from PROWESS database of the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) for the period 2005–2014.