Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission K C Pant, who is leading an Indian delegation to the inaugural meeting of the International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy being held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, declared that India is very much a part of the globalisation process and wants to be in on the global shift towards the hydrogen economy.

Speaking at the conference organised by the US Departments of Energy, State and Transportation that was kicked off by US Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, Pant said: "The harnessing of hydrogen energy is important for the developing world, which holds the great majority of poverty-stricken people across the globe. We must remember that access to commercial energy is not available to nearly 2 billion people and their needs have to be kept in mind while mapping out the path of transition into the hydrogen era.

He argued that "the road to overall global security lies in lessening our dependence on fossil fuels and making sure that all people have access to the energy they need to sustain life. The advent of this new economy is a promissory note for a safer world."

Pant, who signed an agreement to advance commercialisation of fuel cells worldwide, said: "The question for a developing country such as ours really is whether we wait and watch for a global shift toward the hydrogen economy, and only then home in on the best technologies, the most optimal solutions, the least cost options, or do we adopt a proactive approach to shaping the contours of this new opportunity."

Pant, who has served both in the current government and in the governments of Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi, and held such diverse portfolios as minister of finance, education, defence and energy, said India has "made it very clear that it is very much part of the globalisation process that is encouraging international economic cooperation."

He said, "Cost factors will ensure sizeable reduction in electricity grid costs in India's network if we can over the next few decades take advantage of the new opportunities that will open up. After all, we do have the world's second largest scientific and technological pool.

"The answer is very clear, we need to be part of this initiative, as do all developing countries. We need to work out our own specific framework, evaluate our own comparative advantages, use them efficiently and work hand in hand with other countries in the world."

Pant pointed out that India has an ongoing program in the area of renewable energy in general and hydrogen in particular, and said, "We realised the importance of renewable energy over two decades ago and even created a separate Ministry for Non-Conventional Energy Sources."

He said Indian scientists have been working on different aspects of hydrogen for several years and as a result of the "our comprehensive research in partnership with the government, scientific institutions and the industry, we have been able to achieve progress on different aspects including production, storage and application. We are keen to work with other IPHE partner countries to bring about accelerated progress and commercialisation of hydrogen technologies for the benefit of our people."

Pant, who met with Abraham separately, told rediff.com that he hoped Congress would approve the Bush Administration's bill on this hydrogen initiative and that India stands ready to cooperate with the US in implementing the vision of the IPHE.

Pant, who was accompanied by Minister of State for Power Jayawanti Mehta; Secretary, Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources, A M Gokhle; and Prof Rama Murthy from the Department of Science and Technology, said he also discussed with Abraham how the US could assist India in harnessing optimum energy utilisation of hydrogen in terms of the best and most cost effective way of producing.

He said he reminded Abraham of the joint statement by President Bush and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, during the latter's visit to Washington last year when US-India cooperation in the development of energy, including nuclear energy, were among the areas agreed upon and the implementation of this cooperation had to be put in play with some tangible US assistance in terms of technology transfers.

The breakout sessions that the Indian delegation participated in included Hydrogen Production Using Renewable Energy; Hydrogen Production Using Fossil Fuels; and Hydrogen Production Using Nuclear Power.

Pant's present position gives him a broad responsibility for shaping India's economic reforms and reconciling the needs of the modern and the rural economies. In addition to his position in the Planning Commission, he is also chairman of India's Task Force on Infrastructure and a member of the National Security Council.

Earlier, he also spoke on India's economy and its future perspectives at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and addressed the topic of 'Democracy and the Poor: A History of India's Anti-Poverty Strategies," to the India Club at the World Bank.

In his remarks at the CSIS, Pant said the economic reforms that were initiated in the country in the early 1990s and, "perhaps more particularly, the success of our software sector, appear to have rekindled international interest in the Indian economy and in the opportunities it offers to the rest of the world."

He said this "takes me back to the heady days of the 1950s and early 1960s when India was considered the most exciting experiment in post-colonial democratic development."

Citing a recent Goldman Sachs study on the growth prospects of four leading developing and transition economies --Brazil, Russia, India and China -- Pant said India will be the third largest economy in the world by 2040 after China and the US, and noted that "all of this will be without any 'miracle growth."

He said India will grow more or less steadily at 5.5 to 6 per cent per annum and would continue this trajectory even beyond 2050, when all other major countries would have slowed down to 3 per cent or less growth rate.

"The most compelling factor that will guide India's development strategy over the next few years is the fact that although the rate of population growth is dropping quite significantly, the rate of growth of the population in the working age group will peak during the coming decade at around 2.5 per cent per year."