BPCL PODCAST

Sanjeev Agrawal, Executive Director (Corporate Marketing), BPCL

In this latest episode of the BPCL podcast, Subhankar Sen, Chief General Manager (Retail Initiatives & Brand) at BPCL sheds light on the rising popularity of Electric Vehicles in India and shares his insights on its growth prospects, challenges and the plans that BPCL has for the EV market at large, in the near future. Listen in.  Transcript: Sukhoon: As Siddharth packed up his family and prepared for a long drive from Chennai to Madurai in his new electric vehicle, he realised the importance of careful planning. Along with making sure their journey was comfortable with plenty of amenities along the way, he also needed to find fast charging points for his vehicle to ensure they wouldn't be stranded on the road. But Siddharth isn't alone in his concerns - with electric vehicle sales in India surpassing 1 million units in the last financial year, many EV owners are looking for ways to keep their vehicles charged on the go. With the growing adoption of EVs in India, the need for an extensive charging network has become more crucial than ever. Welcome to today's episode of the BPCL Podcast! Today, we dive into the exciting world of electric vehicles and the fast-charging infrastructure that's making long drives a possibility. In this episode, we're joined by Mr Subhankar Sen, Chief General Manager (Brand & Retail Initiative) at Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd., who shares insights on the growth prospects, challenges, and initiatives supporting the electric vehicle ecosystem. Welcome to the BPCL podcast, Mr Subhankar! Subhankar Sen: Thank you. Thank you very much.  Sukhoon: So, Mr Sen, before we move on to the bigger, tougher questions that need to be addressed, I wanted to ask you a quick question. Which vehicle do you drive and do you drive an EV yourself?  Subhankar Sen: No, I drive a conventional ICE vehicle.  Sukhoon: Thank you for that honest answer, Sir. Moving on to my actual question now. So today, electric vehicles are a very small percentage of total vehicles on the streets in India, and yes, I am aware that it is evolving, but what is the forecast of the demand that you predict for four-wheeler electric vehicles in short term and long term in the country? Subhankar Sen: So, NITI Aayog has coined the phrase "30 by 30”. So, 30% of all four-wheelers, which are gonna be sold by 2030, are going to be electric four-wheeler vehicles. And say, if you take a midpoint of 25, so it's going to be, say about 10-15% or thereabouts. That's what we are aspiring to achieve by 2025. And, I think so far, so good.  Sukhoon: Amazing. That’s quite a broad plan by our nation, for the rollout of EVs in the next decade. Which brings me to my next question - Supply chain is a sensitive topic for EV industry. How do you look at the supply chain for batteries, which is the main source?  We don’t have the raw materials, therefore we import it. Some of the source countries, we do not have friendly relations with, so the cost of acquiring them may not be very competitive. Would that hamper the growth of EVs in India? How OEMs can secure local, sustainable battery supply? Subhankar Sen: So, you know, that's a good question. There is a big drive towards indigenisation in the country. And let me tell you this, a large number of components which go into an electric vehicle are actually being manufactured today in the country. And this is part of the government’s Make in India mission. There are some specifics about, you know, about the battery, the cathode and the anode, which are as of now, we are dependent on imports. But, that's how it is. I mean, and that's how it is across the world. And, we are no different. As of now, I think, there is enough and more in the supply chain to meet the current and emerging demand. But, at the same time, like I said, you know, there is, we have a great startup culture in the country and, we are quite sure that more and more indigenisation will happen in a rapid pace. And, India has the competency to quickly adopt the technology. As we all know, as we have seen in the case of the other technologies. So, that will happen. And it'll be a part of the evolution.  Sukhoon: That’s fair enough, Sir. I completely agree with you on that point. That it is true, India is equipped to adapt to that technology. But, moving on to the most important aspect, which does rule any kind of industry or any market or the globe for that matter- it is all about the money. Now, cost is a big factor for electric vehicles and India, we all know, is a price-sensitive market, especially in the lower segment, short-range vehicles. What efforts are being made to make EVs affordable to the masses? I would love for you to tell us, Mr Sen, how do you think this can be made possible?  Subhankar Sen: Yes. You know, for the first time in January, we have now a sub-1 million vehicle in the EV segment, with the launch of the Tata Tiago EV by Tata Motors. So I think, that mental barrier of 1 million or 10 lakhs has been broken. And, very soon we will see several other OEMs following suit. So, I mean, all the OEMs are aware of the fact that you know, they have to bring in an electric vehicle of the masses. But having said that, India is an aspirational country and vehicle owners are very aspirational. So, I don't really see the vehicle that we have in the price ranges. I don't really see that being a very, very big deterrent because we have very good vehicles in this sub-2 million bracket and those are extremely efficient. And, the total cost of ownership is already established. So, if you take the total cost and not just the acquisition cost, I think the EV owner, even today in India, is going to be very happy. Well, you know, it all depends on the features. It all depends on the range you want because the big factor is range. So the battery cost in an EV comprises about, you know, close to 60% of the cost of the vehicle. In anywhere between 50 to 60 per cent. So, if you are very particular about range, then of course you go for a slightly higher-end vehicle. But like for instance, the Tata Tiago EV has a 20-kilowatt battery and it's good to give you about 200-odd kilometres. And, I think for normal motorists, that's good. But, somebody who wants to go on a highway, you have the MG ZS EV. And we are actually partnering with MG Motors as well. So that has a 44.5-kilowatt battery and that gives you a higher rate. So it all depends on what the consumer wants, really. But there is a product range in that.  Sukhoon: Even, I truly believe that Mr Sen. I truly think Indian consumers are supremely conscious and aware when it comes to spending money and they definitely wouldn't mind the cost if the vehicle has quality and is efficient. Now, Mr. Sen, I just wanted to ask you about the most important factor when one picks up an EV - Charging. Now this was a point which my family and I also did think about when we were trying to, you know, pick an EV last year and which is what sort of made us take a backseat -the charging points. Now, the charging infrastructure network is one area of concern, especially at public places. Now even for the owners who prefer to drive within the city, say 30 to 40 kilometres range - everyone may not have the access to a dedicated parking place with a charging facility having the right load, especially those who live in lanes and by-lanes of towns and cities. Like I know I live in one. So it's been a concern. Now, another concern is the range anxiety of EV owners when they drive out on highways. There is a genuine need for a safe and clean space with fast chargers and a place to spend time and take breaks while the vehicle is charged. Therefore, my next question, is how BPCL with its nationwide network of fuel stations, are supporting the EV industry by setting up charging stations and what is the future plan for expansion? Subhankar Sen: You know, this is the classic “chicken and egg” story. But, you know, BPCL has taken it upon itself to actually do its bit to hasten the adoption of EVs in the country as part of the country's energy transition plans. And, we have now set upon creating a network of fast charging stations across the country, more importantly on the highways and we have launched a proposition called the Electric Vehicle Fast Charging Corridors. And these are across the major highways of the country, which are connecting major cities, and major economic centres, and actually take care of three anxieties that a current EV owner or a prospective EV owner has. The first anxiety that he has, is range. How far can I go in an EV? Second, is discovery. Where can I find a place to recharge my vehicle? And third, is time. How long does it take to charge my vehicle? So what our plans are - is that an EV consumer before he leaves home can get onto the ‘Hello BPCL’ app, which is our unified app. We have our EV proposition is branded as E-Drive. And you can plan your complete journey on E-Drive. So, if you are travelling from, say, for instance, from Bombay to Delhi, or Bombay to Bangalore or anywhere, you can plan your journey. You can plan your recharge stops. You can even, you know, in the near future, we will have a provision where you can even book slots that, you know, I'm going to be here at this point in time, and I want to charge my car for half an hour. So we are setting up a complete network of EV chargers and these chargers will be at a distance of 50 to 100 kilometres from each other on that same highway so that the EV owner does not have to alter his journey plan. So, if he is set out to go to Bangalore from Bombay, he can just be on NH4. He does not have to go anywhere. He does not have to go into the city to charge or go to any distributorship to charge. He just has to be on the highway and at every 50-100 kilometres, you will find a BPCL E-Drive fast charger in one of our retail outlets. This actually, we are now calling it the ‘Corridors of Confidence’. It's all about giving confidence to the EV owner, that he can travel anywhere without any of these three anxieties, having to worry about any of these three anxieties - range, discovery and time. And, these are all fast chargers so you can just top up for about, you know, in about 20 minutes, you are good to go for another 100-120 kilometres. By which time, in any case, you would like to take a break, you top up your vehicle by say another 20-30% or 40% of charge in the next 20 to 30 minutes and then you're good to go on your journey again. So, that's the whole value proposition that we have through our fast-charging corridors on the highways. Likewise, we are also setting up fast charging stations in cities and that exercise is underway. We will be starting with the major cities where, as of now, the population of EVs is higher, and slowly will be rolling out in all the major markets in the country. So, very soon you will have a network of EV charging solutions, that we call them because, we are also mindful of the fact that, you know, what does the customer do when he's charging his EV for say, 20 minutes to half an hour? And in some of the places we see that the customer is there for about an hour because he wants to completely recharge his vehicle to 80%. So, how do we allow him to gainfully use his time? So, our retail outlets offer a host of amenities. We have clean and hygienic washrooms because that's a very big need for the customers, especially if you are on a long-distance trip. We have financial services, micro ATMs in most of our outlets, through our partnership with Fino Payments Bank. In several of our outlets, we also have refreshments and we are also setting up cafes under the brand name B-Cafe, in our EV charging stations. So, the consumer is going to get - for him, it's going to be a package. It's going to be a solution so that, his time is gainfully spent. And, as you know, the BPCL retail outlets are the safest place because we are open 24 hours on the highways. In the cities, we are open for extended hours. These are very safe. They're all PESO approved. Well-illuminated. So safety, which today is of paramount importance, is absolutely assured in the BPCL Network. Sukhoon: Now, this is an exciting thought and an insightful strategy you have, Sir, with regards to the EV charging stations, micro ATMs, refreshments and safety solutions. I mean, that's pretty much what a family or set of friends who are out on the highway would look for. Now, charging stations are definitely the need of the hour for present and future EV owners, and I can't wait to see this happen. And this brings me to my last question before I let you go. According to a report by the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV), the EV industry in India will create over 9 million job opportunities by 2030, including exciting opportunities for EV engineers who will play a critical role in EV design, production, and maintenance. Now, with your experience and expertise, I would love for you to tell us how do you see the Engineering Colleges’ curriculum evolving to develop the EV engineers?  Subhankar Sen: Yeah, that's another brilliant question. Actually, that’s the brighter side about this, this new energy form factor. We are opening up opportunities, for not just job creation, but a whole lot of value addition that is happening. I'll just give you an example. You know, we’ve been supporting an event called “Baha” by SAE India, and it's a rally for all-terrain vehicles. Participants are from all engineering colleges across the country. And, you know, they manufacture the All-Terrain vehicle, themselves. And, there is a competition which is run every year in a place called Pithampur, which is close to Indore. So for the last, we've been supporting this event since 2007. So for the last 14 years, it's all been ICE vehicles. The All-Terrain vehicle has always been a petrol vehicle and we've been supporting them throughout branded fuel speed. For the last year and this year, they have now introduced a very popular category. And that's the electric vehicle. That's the electric All-Terrain vehicle. All the colleges and I can tell you this, they are, it has become so popular and there is so much of passion amongst the students of all the engineering colleges, and you have close to, 300 colleges participating in that program, in that competition. So, these are the top-notch engineering colleges across the country. And, we've been interacting with the faculty. We've been interacting with the students and, it's very heartwarming to know that the engineering colleges in the country are already alive to the fact that, this is the future. We need to equip our students, our future automobile engineers with the latest in EV technology. So, you know, that's already happening in the academic space. In the startup space, there is a lot of work happening, you know, from Startup India, Invest India support. We also support the startup space in the EV segment. And there again, we see a lot of youngsters, looking at R&D, looking at various components in the EV value chain. So there is already a lot of work which is happening in the knowledge space. So, knowledge of technology, knowledge of BMS, you know, that's the Battery Management System. It is the heart of the electric vehicle. So there is a lot of work happening on that in that area. There's a lot of work happening in the styling, in features. So, you know, India is all set because we have the, you know, and there is a reverse brain drain that's happening today. And we are all a witness to that. So I think it's all happening in India. So, knowledge, acquiring new skills - I think all that is happening in a big way in the country. It's all good for our economy, and it's all good for the country.  Sukhoon: Impressive, sir. I can already tell that with the way things are and plan for the next decade. India's definitely on the path to being an all-EV country, and I for sure am definitely charged to be a part of this revolution and see what the country turns out to be. Subhankar Sen: Absolutely. We are looking forward to that and, we would like to play and be a major participant in this very important energy transition. We are in the space of providing energy for mobility. And whatever form factor the energy comes in, rest assured BPCL is going to be there. It's electric now. Tomorrow it could be, we are already in CNG as you know, and tomorrow it could be Hydrogen. But, we will always be, BPCL will always be a major participant in any form of energy for mobility.  Sukhoon: Absolutely. With you on that one as well, Mr Sen. It is all about easy access to buying an EV and making sure it causes no trouble. Thank you so much for being here on the podcast today. I do know our listeners have gained some value insights especially since we spoke about EV charging and safety solutions and the plan for the technology in the startup space in the EV segment in the next decade or so. It's been absolutely wonderful talking to you, Mr Sen.Thank you so much for your time.  Subhankar Sen: Thank you. Thank you very much.  Sukhoon: That was Mr Subhankar Sen, Chief General Manager (Retail Initiatives & Brand) at BPCL. Do subscribe to BPCL PODCAST - Unlocking Possibilities, Empowering Lives, wherever you are listening to it from, we have more episodes up! Meanwhile, check us out on: https://www.bharatpetroleum.in/. You can also follow us on all major social media platforms too!. BPCL PODCAST - Unlocking Possibilities, Empowering Lives.   Subscribe to this podcast and also follow us here. Twitter: https://twitter.com/bpclimited YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/bpclbrandFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/BharatPetroleumcorporationInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bpclimited/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bpclKoo:  https://www.kooapp.com/profile/BPCLimitedWebsite: https://www.bharatpetroleum.in/ For more details contact: Abbas Akhtar - Chief General Manager (Brand & PR) at Bharat Petroleum Corporation LimitedSaurabh Jain - Chief Manager PR & Brand Credits: Produced by SpoolerManaged By Ventures Advertising

Subhankar Sen, Chief General Manager (Retail Initiatives & Brand), BPCL

IWD - Meenaxi Rawat, IES, Chief Vigilance Officer & Sanjeeta Koul Gupta, General Manager and Team Incharge, IS applications, BPCL.

In this episode, Sukhmal Jain, Director (Marketing) speaks about India Energy Week, a momentous gathering of 30,000+ energy professionals from 100+ countries, which is being held in Bengaluru from 6th - 8th February 2023, and how BPCL with a humungous presence in the entire hydrocarbon value chain, is metamorphosing into an Energy Company Transcript: Sukhoon:  Hello and welcome to the  BPCL PODCAST  with me, Sukhoon. Joining us is Sukhmal Kumar Jain, Director (Marketing), Bharat Petroleum, who elaborates on how the theme of ‘Unlocking Possibilities, Empowering Lives’ at the PSU’s pavilion at India Energy Week encompasses its progressive strategy and determination to evolve new energy solutions to serve the nation. Welcome to the BPCL PODCAST! Sukhmal: Thanks for having me. Sukhoon: Mr. Jain, How important is India Energy Week 2023, both to your company and to the global oil, gas and energy industry? Sukhmal: India is one of the fastest-growing large economies in the world, poised for brisk and sustained energy growth for the foreseeable future, with an impetus for evolving and deploying cleaner energy solutions on an increasingly greater scale. Thus, India is a huge opportunity for fruitful engagement at multiple levels. Bharat Petroleum (BPCL), the second largest National Oil Company in India and a Fortune Global 500 company, with formidable core strengths, humongous nationwide operations and clear path towards clean and sustainable energy, is showcasing its vitality at India Energy Week 2023. Sukhoon: That’s amazing to know sir, that India has a huge opportunity to engage during India Energy week at several levels and that BPCL has laid a clear path toward clean & sustainable energy, which brings me to my next question. What is the central theme of your company’s participation at the India Energy week and are you launching any new projects or services with regard to that? Sukhmal: In India Energy week 2023, The theme of BPCL Pavilion is ‘Unlocking Possibilities, Empowering Lives’. This encompasses our aspiration, progressive strategy and determination to evolve new and improved energy solutions to serve the nation with abundant, affordable, clean energy. BPCL has been charting a pragmatic path in its journey of energy transition and has expressed its commitment to achieving the ambitious goal of ‘Net Zero’ in Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2040. For that, we have unfolded a slew of initiatives that are shaping our transformation from a predominantly oil and gas company into an ‘energy’ company. Also on the display will be our massive digital transformation journey, which has enabled enhanced trust, convenience, and personalization to deliver novel customer experiences by leveraging digital integration and advanced analytics based on artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies.  Sukhoon: That is quite a progressive strategy, Mr Jain, especially since you brought up the vision of BPCL achieving the Net Zero emissions in scope 1 and 2, by 2040 and stepping into the age of digital transformation with a focus on delivering novel customer experience and elevating trust in the company. Mr Jain, this is the first event of its kind, right, that brings together conventional and unconventional energy companies on the same platform. How do you think India Energy Week will build synergy between the two of them?  Do you believe this will shape the future of the energy industry in India and beyond?  Sukhmal: From the perspective of the energy transition, the boundaries between traditional energy companies and renewable energy companies are blurring. We, at Bharat Petroleum, are implementing a stage-wise long-term plan to multiply our renewable energy share and expanding solar, wind, and biofuels. We are expanding our renewables portfolio and have plans to reach 1 GW of renewables by 2025 and 10 GW by 2040. Also, we are accelerating biofuels in this pursuit. We are presently blending 10% ethanol in petrol, with a target to reach 20% blending by 2025-26. Sukhoon: That is refreshing to know that lines are blurring between the traditional and renewable energy sectors, since that is important for what the future holds for energy companies in India, in terms of solar expansions, wind expansions and renewable energy at large. Mr Jain, India Energy Week 2023 is being organised during India’s presidency at the G20 and the Shanghai Cooperation. Do you think this will reflect on the unique opportunity to showcase India as an engine of global economic growth and a driver for global consumption in the energy sector? Sukhmal: India recently overtook the UK to become the fifth-largest economy in the world and is the third-largest consumer of energy. It is the most populous country, with a favorable demographic composition. This puts India firmly at the center of the global map, as a major driver of economic and energy growth, as well as, a regional and global economic powerhouse, which is being showcased emphatically at India Energy Week 2023. Sukhoon: How critical is India’s role in the global energy transition and in solving the energy trilemma of security, affordability, and availability? As a pillar of India’s energy sector, what role do you see your company playing in that journey? Sukhmal: By fast-tracking renewable energy, India is demonstrating the enormous potential of clean energy solutions to combat climate change. India has the world’s fourth-largest cumulative renewable energy capacity installed today and has emerged as one of the cheapest producers of it in the last few years. Remarkably, India has multiplied its solar power generation by as much as 50 times since 2012 and also has a target to triple its non-fossil power generation by 2030. Alongside the national goal to rapidly decarbonise the economy, Bharat Petroleum is making strides in its own energy transition. We are also expanding our R&D efforts and technological collaborations to enhance and develop clean energy solutions. As India aims to increase the use of natural gas in its energy mix to 15% by 2030, BPCL, along with our JVs, is expanding its presence in CGD space, with licenses for developing CGD network in 50 geographical areas covering 105 districts, after 11th CGD bidding round. The success in the past few CGD rounds has placed BPCL among the top 3 CGD players in the country. We also supply gas to refineries, as fuel for process and utility heaters, hydrogen generation unit and gas turbines. In the electric mobility space, to address range anxiety of electric four-wheelers, we have come up with a novel concept of creating Highway Fast Charging Corridors. We plan to convert more than 7,000 conventional fuel stations into energy stations, in the medium to long term, providing multiple fuelling options. To achieve our target of ‘Net Zero’ in Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by the year 2040, a water electrolyzer-based green hydrogen plant of about 9 tons per day capacity has been planned at our Bina Refinery, which is expected to be commissioned in 2025. We plan to scale up green hydrogen production in the medium term. Sukhoon:  Mr Jain, thank you so much for giving us the perspective on India Energy Week, BPCL’s participation and how BPCL is steadfastly anchored to the energy needs of the nation and aligned with global climate action, having embarked upon an ambitious voyage of energy transition towards a cleaner and sustainable future. Sukhmal: Thank you so much. Sukhoon:  Do subscribe to this podcast wherever you are listening to this podcast from, we have more of our upcoming episodes of the BPCL PODCAST, and trust me, we do have plenty on the way.  You can also find us and follow us too, we are on Instagram and Twitter @BPCLimited. You can also find us on Facebook by typing in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited! This was the BPCL PODCAST, by “Bharat Petroleum Corporation India Limited - Energising Lives”. END. You can also follow us on all major social media platforms as well!BPCL podcast, unlocking possibilities, empowering lives. Subscribe to this podcast and also follow us here. Twitter: https://twitter.com/bpclimitedYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/bpclbrandFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/BharatPetroleumcorporationInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bpclimited/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bpclKoo:  https://www.kooapp.com/profile/BPCLimitedWebsite: https://www.bharatpetroleum.in/ For more details contact: Abbas Akhtar - Chief General Manager (Brand & PR) at Bharat Petroleum Corporation LimitedSaurabh Jain - Chief Manager PR & Brand Credits: Produced by SpoolerManaged By Ventures Advertising

Sukhmal Jain Director Marketing BPCL talks about India Energy Week

In our first episode, listen to our Honourable Union Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs and Petroleum & Natural Gas and Union Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri talk about India Energy Week, a momentous gathering of 30,000+ energy professionals from 100+ countries, which was held in Bengaluru from 6th - 8th February 2023. Transcript:BPCL podcast, unlocking possibilities, empowering lives. Melbin: Hello and welcome to the BPCL podcast ‘Unlocking Possibilities, Empowering Lives’. My name is Melbin and in this series of podcasts, you can listen to conversations with thought leaders from the industry, on the future of the energy landscape. Joining us on this episode is the Honourable Union Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs and Petroleum & Natural Gas, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, who spoke with us during the India Energy Week, which was held in Bangalore from 6th to 8th February 2023. Welcome to the first episode of the BPCL PODCAST Sir! Shri Hardeep Singh Puri: Thank you very much. Melbin: Really looking forward to speaking to you and my first question to you Sir, What are the key takeaways from India Energy Week 2023? Shri Hardeep Singh Puri:  The key takeaway, I think, is that you have a platform where India's rapidly growing demand for energy, where India's four-pronged strategy, increasing ENP, acquiring assets, accelerating transition through biofuels,  green hydrogen, all that is being discussed. And the very fact that you are doing a podcast on this issue thinks that it is going from government policy and permeating into the consciousness of people. So that's a very big take. And it's not a one-time conversation. We are going to do it on a continuous basis, year on year, so it’ll become an institutional event.  Melbin: Right. Also Sir, the government is actually adopting multiple pathways to achieve its, bold commitment to, you know, becoming net zero by 2070. So what do you think is India’s roadmap with regard towards energy transition? Shri Hardeep Singh Puri: We have a four-pronged strategy and India's roadmap because India will succeed. Other countries in the world, especially in the global south, can follow.  Melbin:  This really must be quite an amazing feeling Sir, to see that the world is now looking upto India to play a pivotal role in global energy markets. How do you see this phenomenal event that is the India Energy Week panned out? Shri Hardeep Singh Puri : There's a lot of interest. There are representatives of 50 countries who are here. There are 35 ministerial-level representatives. The CEOs of all the major global companies or their equivalents or number twos are here. All the Indian CEOs are here. Anybody who is associated as a stakeholder with the energy sector is here. So why is this so? One, I think because there is widespread acknowledgment that India is where demand and growth is very evident, and in the coming two decades you'll find that India will be the place where the exponential growth will take place. Somebody mentioned to me, that between 2020 and 2040, India will account for 25%, at least, of the growth in international demand for energy. Now, if it was only a question of demand and imports, that would be a different story. India has demonstrated it has opened up 1 million square kilometers out of the 3.5 million square kilometers of sedimentary basin for exploration and production. It's not only just opened up, it has set up a national data repository and the data available is available to anyone. We are not telling people you come and invest and then we will take over, you come and invest,you come and explore. We will incentivize your investment. So, ENP is growing, demand ENP, the transition to Green Energy. The Honorable Prime Minister, this is Energy Week three major initiatives he took, solar cooktop, E 20 Fuel, a rally, which is of not just E 20 cars, many of the vehicles which were there were E 85 vehicles, flexi fuels. So India is a place where it's happening. So I’ll share something with you. When we were planning this event, some people turned around and asked me, you know, when you go to some of these events in the Gulf, there's a lot of buzz and excitement. What will happen to India? I said, welcome to India. You know, we have a capacity. If you are expecting a thousand, you'll get 5,000 people. So I think that is what you are witnessing here just now. Melbin: Indeed sir, I am really proud. I’m sure all Indians are very proud. India really is the place and it's quite happening these days, as our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi said that India's Energy Plan aims to ensure energy justice. Can you elaborate on energy Justice? Shri Hardeep Singh Puri : Energy justice is very important because there was a session on what do you mean by energy security? Now, I took the liberty of telling them that if you were having a discussion on energy security one or two years ago, in the midst of all the global uncertainty, it would mean one thing. But if you were having the discussion five years ago, it would've meant something else. But you know, energy security, if global markets are in turmoil, means you must have availability, you must have security, stability. And that even if you're able to access energy, it has to be at prices in which developing countries, in particular, can supply energy to their, you know, consumers. I've been asked this question many times, so I don't even mind. I don't wanna wait for you to ask it. I owe a moral duty to my consumer. You land in Bangalore and you see, look at the number of cars and energy. That is the energy. So you have no option but to provide for them. And therefore it requires a serious discussion. Instead of people putting the blame on X or a group of producers, something, we must be able to realize that we are all stakeholders in this together. And if the system doesn't survive, all of us in varying degrees are going to suffer. Melbin: Sir, this brings me to my final question, India Energy Week 2023 comes at a time of India’s G20 presidency, so how do you see India leading from the front, especially with regard to this? Shri Hardeep Singh Puri : G20 presidency, India assumed a very short while ago, and we'll have it throughout the year. There will be many G20 events I have been to, but this I think is the first large-scale G20 event as part of on energy. I mean there are energy workshops, etc and I think what India can bring on the table, and I've said this many times, look, the G20 as a group was born in a moment of crisis. G20 was born when the world's financial and economic system was in distress. You know, I'm talking about 2007 & 8 and the world, the real estate markets starting with the prime sector lending in the US. They started, and some toxicity came. It spread. This is the first real crisis after that, after 2007 & 8. And India by virtue of the fact that it's a large developing country, it is doing a lot on energy transition. I mean, I'll give you a small example, the solar cooktop, which the Prime Minister introduced. I personally think it has major global replicability, at least in the global south. I personally think even in western industrial democracies, people might want to use something which has solar. If you have enough sunshine, you would want to use a solar cooktop. So there are many things that India can be part of that. Melbin: Well, it really is all about process isn’t it Sir? Thank you so much for giving us the perspective on India Energy Week, and India’s role of leading from the front, in the energy transition and security efforts while laying out strategies it has planned to manage energy demands during our nation’s G20 presidency. It really has been my absolute honour talking to you. Thank you so much, Sir.  Shri Hardeep Singh Puri : Thank you very much. Melbin: That was Hon’ble Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs and Petroleum & Natural Gas, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri. Do subscribe to BPCL PODCAST - Unlocking Possibilities, Empowering Lives, wherever you are listening to it from, we have more episodes up! Meanwhile do check us out at https://www.bharatpetroleum.in/ You can also follow us on all major social media platforms as well!BPCL podcast, unlocking possibilities, empowering lives.   END. Subscribe to this podcast and also follow us here. 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Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Hon'ble Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Union Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs

India is projected to witness the largest increase in energy demand of any country over the next two decades, as its economy continues to grow and create opportunities for its people, and the global energy value chain. As a rapidly developing country, and soon to be the world’s most populous nation, India’s energy transition will play a pivotal role in global energy markets. Tune in to BPCL Podcast to know more, how India is meeting these challenges of energy security and environmental sustainability impacting long-term energy transition and paths towards decarbonisation. Subscribe to this podcast and also follow us here. Twitter: https://twitter.com/bpclimited YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/bpclbrandFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/BharatPetroleumcorporationInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bpclimited/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bpclKoo:  @BPCLimited

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