A diligent energy diplomacy at work

Dharmendra Pradhan has learnt quickly on the job and proved Prime Minister Modi′s bet on this new minister in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was a good one. Dharmendra Pradhan was only in his mid-40s when he was appointed petroleum and natural gas minister in the Narendra Modi government in May 2014. It was a big leap of faith on the part of the Indian prime minister, and the placing of a large responsibility on the shoulders of a young and talented political colleague who was nevertheless a first-time minister. Pradhan had no time for apprenticeship. While a minister of state (ranked below a full cabinet minister) he was given independent charge of the Departments of Petroleum and Natural Gas. Two years later, that bet has proved to be a correct one. Pradhan has emerged as one of the successes of the Modi government. His record in office has been impressive and he has grappled with multiple problems with vigour. Pradhan's years in the ministry have coincided with the oil price slump, as part of a larger commodities slump. They have also seen pressure on India and other countries to invest in renewables. This scenario has given Pradhan opportunities and challenges. It has allowed him to decontrol diesel prices in India, and leave these to market forces rather than bureaucratic fiat and state subsidies. He has been diligent in his energy diplomacy, in west Asia but further afield as well, from Africa to the Americas, in helping build an Indian strategic reserve and tying up long-term energy supplies for India. Domestically, he has overseen an expansion in availability of gas (especially liquefied petroleum gas or LPG) for household kitchen use. By urging upper-income families to give up their traditional subsidies - an appeal by Prime Minister Modi and by Minister Pradhan was well-received across the country and over 10 million consumers gave up their subsidies over a year-long campaign in 2015-16 - the government found the means to deliver subsidised LPG connections to lower-income families and get them to replace coal-fired stoves, an environmental and health hazard. This massive exercise, which now includes direct-cash transfers to those LPG consumers who still get government subsidies, has given Pradhan a reputation for efficiency and diligence. His next endeavour is to re-start India's stalled oil and gas exploration programme, difficult as this is given global market conditions, and restructure India's flagship, state-owned oil and gas companies. For these state-owned enterprises, Pradhan is said to be keen to invite professional managerial talent from the private sector to complement in-house expertise, and to give the companies room and autonomy to take risks globally and become genuine multinational corporations.