Energy security is one of the critical challenges facing the country. India's energy import bill for 2011-12 was about Rs. 5.4 lakh crores - approximately equal to the state domestic product of Gujarat. Moreover, as a percentage of GDP, India's energy import bill is among the highest in the world. Judging by the response of the Government to address this challenge, it appears that the magnitude of this challenge is not clear to the Government. It has missed many opportunities to address the challenge. For example, its policies and programs do not promote efficient modes of transport, it has still not notified fuel efficiency norms for vehicles, its assessment of India's wind energy potential is inconsistent with some other studies, and its institutional response to the challenge has been extremely weak. A paper on this issue was published in the May 19th 2012 issue of the Economic and Political Weekly. An article was also published in The Hindu Business Line on 11th June 2012.

To address the institutional weakness - a key reason for the Government's inadequate response - Prayas has also suggested an institutional structure as reflected in the note sent to officials in the Planning Commission and Prime Minister's office.