For the longest time, we treated energy security like a distant math problem, counting barrels and tracking tankers. But the recent crisis at the Strait of Hormuz has shattered that complacency. It showed us, plain and day, that relying on a single maritime choke point is like constructing a house on sand. When the global tensions flare up, the shockwaves hit our doorsteps, leaving our cooking fuel stranded out at sea, eventually bringing us to a halt as far as our energy supply is concerned. Perhaps the three pillars of energy security, which are availability, affordability, and accessibility, all crumble at once.
This chokehold has been a mirror for us, forcing us to have a hard look at our structural faultlines. Bharat relies heavily on imports to meet its daily energy needs, spending an astronomical Rs 3800 crore approximately every single day on hydrocarbons. We depend on imports for roughly 60 per cent of our Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) consumption. 90 per cent of those imports sail through the Strait of Hormuz, meaning more than half of the gas cooking our food is exposed to geopolitical crossfire. When flows dried up during the conflict, daily LPG consumption plummeted from 90,000 tonnes to 72,000 tonnes. It led to the rationing of gas for industries to keep domestic kitchens running, forcing a wider booking gap between cylinder refills for over 33 crore households.
Our current Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPRs) tucked away in underground caverns at Visakhapatnam, Mangaluru, and Padur hold 3.37 million tonnes of oil, which is just two-thirds of our total capacity. Even at full throttle, these reserves buy us a mere 9.5 days of backup. Including commercial refinery stocks, our national buffer stands at 74 days, falling short of the 90-day baseline recommended by the International Energy Agency (IEA). The government has already directed oil companies like Indian Oil, BPCL, and HPCL to build a dedicated 30-day strategic LPG reserve. Simultaneously, partnerships like the one with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) aim to expand crude storage and kickstart strategic gas reserves. However, building storage tanks is only half the battle for true resilience requires us to change how we produce and consume energy.
Alternative Sources of Energy
Top-down, centralised energy networks keep us dependent on global markets and highly vulnerable to remote shocks. The real, lasting solution is a decentralised energy transition that taps into local resources, forcing us to look inward and use what we already have. In rural areas, agriculture and biogas are a match made in heaven. The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana did a world of good by giving 10.55 crore LPG connections to rural women, saving them from toxic wood smoke. But it also hooked rural kitchens to volatile global supply chains while millions of traditional gobar gas plants fell into disuse. By tossing out cattle dung instead of using it, fields lost natural organic manure, forcing a massive secondary reliance on imported chemical fertilizers made from foreign hydrocarbon feedstocks.
We can break this cycle through the SATAT and GOBARdhan schemes, which have already set up 130 functional Compressed Biogas (CBG) plants. A family with just three cows can generate enough waste to displace 100 kg of LPG a year, while yielding tons of rich organic manure. To help this sector grow, we must slice through red tape. Legacy safety rules meant for massive oil refineries shouldn’t choke small, community-run biogas units. Giving equipment makers standardised safety certificates and using single-window green channels managed by district magistrates will let local entrepreneurs thrive and keep wealth inside the village economy. The success of Ekauni village in Chandauli shows exactly what is possible; when the 2026 fuel crisis hit, a B-Tech student named Chandra Prakash Singh used 3,000 kg of daily waste from his father’s dairy farm to power a community biogas plant. Today, 125 out of 150 families cook on clean gas for under Rs 400 a month, entirely untouched by global shortages.
In cities, we need to unlock underutilized infrastructure. Bharat has 1.67 crore domestic Piped Natural Gas (PNG) connections, which barely scratches the surface of our urban density. Housing societies must proactively work with local networks to swap out imported LPG cylinders for stable, piped gas. On top of that, we generate up to 170,000 tonnes of municipal waste every day. By separating our garbage at the ward level, we can fuel local Waste-to-Energy plants, turning urban refuse into kitchen fuel. Meanwhile, our solar energy deployment has skyrocketed from 2.82 GW in 2014 to 154.24 GW today, making Bharat the third-largest producer in the world.
Adopting Swadeshi Lifestyle
A sustainable answer involves taking stock of our daily use and reducing our dependency on hydrocarbon-based products, beginning from the kitchen itself. Pressure cooking can help conserve up to 20 per cent of energy and 30 per cent of cooking time as compared to regular cooking using open pots. We can conserve gas by reducing the heat after water boils, keeping the cooking utensils dry before placing them on the cooking appliance, soaking lentils or beans for 30 minutes before cooking, using solar cooking appliances, and even going back to the old community cooking system like the Sanjha Chulha. When the price of crude oil exceeded USD 110 per barrel, its effects rapidly spread across the nation, leading to higher shipping costs and increasing the cost of daily foods such as milk. This supply-induced inflation will decrease the ability of people to save money and will lower their ability to consume goods and services. With sustained inflation, the RBI may increase interest rates in order to reduce demand, which negatively affects investments and economic growth. Our Prime Minister has clearly stated the four areas where people need to take certain precautions, such as gold, petroleum products, travelling abroad, and fertilisers. Avoiding gold helps us to save our foreign currency, as it is used for protecting the rupee during crises, especially when the import of gold from abroad has increased to $71.98 billion during FY25-26.
Further, outflows under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), totalling USD 28.5 billion, where travel-related outflows were USD 16 billion, constitute a significant portion of the total, is significant. Opting for domestic tourism rather than going abroad on holiday ensures that the funds are not used for tourism expenditure, thus reducing the pressure on the current account deficit. Lastly, we need to ensure the use of fertiliser is optimised, as the import cost of fertiliser is projected to rise to USD 22 billion because of high oil prices. Making the switch towards using natural farming techniques, using indigenous fertilisers, and utilising solar-powered pumps will go a long way in reducing expenses.
Ultimately, Bharat’s path to energy sovereignty cannot be paved by a policy framework alone. Today calls for a unified front from every citizen towards embracing a Swadeshi lifestyle, curbing gold purchases, using public transit, and adopting localised energy production. True freedom means breaking the shackles of foreign reliance. When 1.4 billion people act with a shared sense of duty to the nation, a temporary resource crunch transforms into a lasting blueprint for a secure, self-reliant Bharat.
