Power sector in India is quite phenomenal and it continues to grow Power generation, transmission and distribution for a huge country like India with its myriad geographical, physiological, demographic, natural and environmental variations pose a great challenge. The Indian power sector is under the ministry of power, which is entrusted with the responsibilities of management and implementation of various power projects, formulation and implementation of power laws, management of power generation and supply and monitoring of power plants and companies. In India, thermal, hydro, solar, biogas, wind and nuclear energy are the various sources of power. Power Grid Corporation of India Limited is responsible for all India transmission supply of electrical power. Rural Electrification Corporation provides necessary funding to electricity distribution companies to improve power supply to rural areas and North Eastern Electric Power Corporation supplies power to the northeast. The Nuclear Power Corporation takes care of all the existing and upcoming nuclear power plants in India. Similarly, National Thermal Power Corporation is responsible for building and maintaining thermal power plants. At present, India's total installed power capacity stands at 1,47,402.81 MW. India has the fifth largest electricity generation capacity in the world and a low per capita consumption at 606 units. Wind, solar and nuclear power and, to some extent, biogas contributes to the power sector in a big way. Despite this, there is a large demand-supply gap. The all India average energy shortfall is 7 per cent and peak demand shortfall is 12 per cent. Government's ambitious mission of power for all by 2012 necessitates that our installed generation capacity be at least 2 lakh MW by 2012. The transmission and distribution network of 5.7 million circuit kilometres is the third largest in the world. A majority of generation, transmission and distribution capacities are with either public sector companies or with State Electricity Boards. The good news is that power generation and distribution are no longer state-controlled and many government as well as private organizations have taken up the task of generating and distributing power. With the commencement of projects with a capacity of 7,730MW in 2010 and with higher availability of coal and gas, the total power output is likely to rise by 4.6 per cent during 2009-10. The signing of the IAEA inspection deal that permits India to import nuclear materials and technology from the US is also believed to bolster expansion of power generation as it would end more than two decades of nuclear isolation and provide fuel for civilian and nuclear reactors. Entry of the private sector in power distribution will witness high investments and an improvement in the efficiency of the distribution system. Electricity Act 2003 provides for open access to the transmission and distribution network and is expected to encourage competition in the electricity sector and improve productivity. Under the power sector reforms, the three key functions of generation, transmission and distribution of power will be with the SEBs, and separate licensees would be used for them. There is no doubt, all these measures on the generation, transmission and distribution front would give the momentum to stride confidently towards the formation of a robust electricity grid in the country. ENERGY CONSERVATION Kyoto Protocol and the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro on energy conservation have been the talk of the day. The increased globalisation has brought about a necessity to focus on energy conservation so that the aim of sustainable economic development may be achieved in the years to come. India has become largely self-reliant in the last few years. However, if India has to achieve the targeted growth in GDP, it would require proportionate input of energy, particularly in the form of coal, gas and electricity. However, India's fossil fuel reserves are limited, and the known reserves of oil and natural gas may last hardly for 18 to 26 years respectively at the current reserves to production ratio. In the recent years, while the demand for energy continues to grow manifold, the energy sources are becoming scarce and costly. Among the various strategies to be evolved for meeting this increased energy demand, efficient use of energy and its conservation emerges to be the least cost option, apart from being environmentally benign. India's first National Action Plan on Climate Change, released in June 2008, outlines a few national missions which outline a concerted effort to enhance energy. Based on the Energy Conservation Act 2001, the plan necessitates large energy-consuming industries to take steps in the reduction of power consumption. The plan also provides for energy incentives, including reduced taxes on energy efficient appliances and financing of public-private partnerships to reduce energy consumption in municipal, buildings and agricultural sectors. Another mission outlined by the NAPCC is the National Mission on Sustainable Habitat. Its primary goal is to promote energy efficiency as a core component of urban planning. The implementation of measures under this mission would bring about extension of the existing Energy Conservation Building Code, and would lead to a greater emphasis on urban waste management and recycling, including power production from waste. The mission will also implement with greater fervour the enforcement of automotive fuel economy standards and encourage the purchase of efficient vehicles, and offer incentives for the use of public transportation. Under the Energy Conservation Act 2001, large energy-consuming industries are required to undertake energy audits and an energy labeling programme for appliances. Energy audits help in suggesting ways of saving conventional power and pave way for feasibility studies for the use of non conventional energy in industry. Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has been set up by the government for this purpose. In the household sector, energy saving devices are the need of the hour. Most of the domestic appliances, including refrigeration, air conditioning and lighting systems used in Indian homes, need to adopt energy-saving measures to cut down national power losses. For reducing the gap between energy demand and supply, conserving energy on ail fronts is imperative. Indeed, energy conservation and utilisation of renewable energy technologies are complementary. 'However, it is essential to undertake energy conservation measures first, thereby reducing the energy consumption to a large extent. Then ways and means need to be identified as to where and how much of this energy needs could be met through renewable energy. ?