Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, on Friday said India should align domestic energy prices to international market rates before exploring shale gas.

"I think shale gas is far way. We should put in place a policy and start exploring shale gas but no gas would come before three-four years. There is no evidence of how much shale gas we have. If you are not aligning domestic energy prices to the international market, then shale gas is far away," Ahluwalia told mediapersons.

Ahluwalia said before exploring shale gas, other issues such as price pooling need to be resolved.

CLEAN ENERGY MINISTERIAL

The Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission said India wants to showcase its clean energy initiatives to the world.

India is hosting the Clean Energy Ministerial next week, a global forum to promote policies and programmes that advance clean energy technology.

"We have taken many clean initiatives such as the National Solar Mission that the world is interested in. We have done innovative things," Ahluwalia said.

He added that countries that come to India should be aware of its energy policy. “Many countries would be using smart grids and our people can learn from them,” said the Deputy Chairman.

B. K. Chaturvedi, Member (Energy) of the Planning Commission, said the Clean Energy Ministerial is not a platform to discuss green obligations.

”Here we would discuss innovation. Most countries, including China and South Korea, are participating. Obligations are discussed at United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),” Chaturvedi added.

Moreover, the forum would not discuss issues related to the dumping of cheap Chinese products in India.

This has been taken care of by the Ministry of Commerce and Renewable Energy, Chaturvedi said.

Indian solar PV makers are facing financial challenges because of cheaper imports entering the country.

>siddhartha.s@thehindu.co.in

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