Description

In this episode of India in Transition, Heeta Lakhani and Pranshu Patel talk about the bigger question – the energy transition may be inevitable but how quickly are we actually willing to make it happen?

The conversation moves beyond a simple oil-versus-renewables debate. Bibhuti argues that India is dealing with multiple energy realities at once, particularly between urban and rural India ,where questions of access, affordability, infrastructure and reliability can look very different. We talk about IndianOil preparing for the growth of electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers, the role of battery swapping and charging infrastructure, the importance of affordable energy storage, and whether decentralised solar and biogas systems could allow parts of rural India to leapfrog a fossil-fuel-heavy development pathway altogether. The conversation also looks at energy security, the need to diversify India’s energy sources, IndianOil’s long history of CSR, and where the line sits between corporate sustainability, CSR and genuine climate action.

At the centre of the episode is a question we keep coming back to: What role does oil play in India’s sustainable development? And perhaps the bigger question is not whether the transition will happen, but how quickly India is willing and able to make it happen.

About Bibhuti Ranjan Pradhan:

Bibhuti Ranjan Pradhan is Executive Director – Corporate Coordination & CSR at Indian Oil Corporation Limited. His work spans corporate strategy, sustainability, stakeholder engagement and community development. In this conversation, he shares his perspective on India’s changing energy system, the future role of fossil fuels and renewables, the challenges of rural energy access, and how IndianOil is preparing for changes in mobility and energy demand.