Energy as a Power Factor: How India Capitalized on the Missteps of Other Nations: India’s Path to Becoming a Global Energy Hub
India’s rise to become one of the most influential players in the global energy sector is not the result of chance, but of a long-term, strategic learning process. Over several decades, the country closely observed the energy-policy misjudgments of other nations and used these experiences to make deliberately different decisions of its own. India’s current position, prominently showcased at India Energy Week, is the outcome of this chronological analysis of others’ mistakes.
Phase 1: Early Industrialization Elsewhere – India’s Strategic Restraint
Errors of other nations:
In the second half of the 20th century, Western industrialized countries—and later China—expanded their energy infrastructure rapidly but in a one-sided manner: dominated by fossil fuels, inefficient, and lacking long-term resilience. Environmental impacts, supply security, and technological flexibility played only a marginal role.
India’s lesson:
India refrained from a hasty build-up and initially accepted structural deficits. This allowed the country later to:
- bypass inefficient technologies,
- construct modern refineries and energy grids at state-of-the-art standards,
- integrate digitalization and automation from the outset.
What appeared to be a late start thus became a strategic advantage.
Phase 2: Import Dependency and Geopolitical Naivety – India’s Diversification Strategy
Errors of other nations:
Many countries became heavily dependent on individual energy suppliers or regions, assuming political stability as a given—an assumption that proved false during global crises.
India’s lesson:
India developed an early policy of supplier diversification:
- parallel sourcing from Russia, the Middle East, and Africa,
- the establishment of strategic oil reserves,
- a deliberate linkage of fossil and renewable energy sources.
Energy was treated not as a market commodity, but as a matter of national security.
Phase 3: Overregulation and Ideological Energy Transitions – India’s Pragmatism
Errors of other nations:
In some industrialized countries, abrupt energy-policy shifts, excessive regulation, and ideologically driven decisions led to investment backlogs, high prices, and supply risks.
India’s lesson:
India pursued a realistic transition:
- modernization instead of the immediate shutdown of fossil capacities,
- parallel expansion of renewable energies,
- investor-friendly frameworks without relinquishing state control.
This balance created planning certainty and attracted international capital.
Phase 4: The Ukraine War – A Turning Point in Global Energy Markets
Errors of other nations:
The war between Russia and Ukraine exposed how unprepared many states were for the sudden loss of key energy suppliers. Sanctions often hit domestic economies harder than the sources of supply themselves.
India’s response and utilization:
India reacted flexibly and pragmatically:
- purchasing heavily discounted Russian crude oil,
- expanding its domestic refining capacities,
- exporting refined products to global markets, including Europe.
India thus became a sanctions-compliant intermediary between producers and consumers.
Phase 5: Global Reordering – India’s Institutionalized Advantage
Errors of other nations:
While many countries responded in the short term and remained structurally constrained, adaptability was lacking.
India’s position:
Thanks to available refining capacity, modern infrastructure, and geopolitical neutrality, India was able to exploit market shifts on a lasting basis. The country established itself as:
- a stable refining location,
- a logistical hub,
- a reliable energy partner for multiple world regions.
Present Day: India Energy Week and the Claim to Global Leadership
At India Energy Week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi succinctly summarized this development. With announced investment opportunities of up to US$500 billion and the clear goal of becoming the world’s leading oil refining hub, India openly articulated its global ambitions.
Conclusion
India’s rise is not based on luck, but on strategic learning capability. While other nations remained trapped in dependencies, overregulation, and geopolitical short-sightedness, India analyzed their mistakes, waited for the right moment, and acted decisively.
Thus, a latecomer became a global energy hub—not despite, but precisely because of the errors of others.
