Ankit Sharma
A world without energy would be dark and quite scary. The modern world is heavily dependent on energy supply. A quick look at the surrounding gadgets – be it your laptop, mobile phones, cars, air conditioners, kitchen appliances among others — one gets the realisation that our need for energy is growing. In fact, modern economies run the risk of collapsing without adequate supply of energy.
Interestingly, it is not only the households but factories, transport systems and communication, among others; which are heavily dependent on continuous energy supply. An energy supply gap often impacts the entire modern ecosystem. To ensure that energy supply remains uninterrupted, many companies and component makers in the sectors across Oil & Gas, Power, Renewables — Solar & Wind are incessantly working to address the rising energy needs.
Amid this, India needs a special mention as the country is one of the fastest growing and soon to become world’s third largest economy. In other words, this would mean a tremendous rise in energy needs for India which would open a big window of opportunities going forward. And, opportunities bring investment themes along.
Currently, India is in a sweet spot when it comes to investment opportunities in the energy sector. There are various factors which would push up energy consumption in India. Continuous government’s reforms with impetus on making India a manufacturing hub, rising urbanisation, increasing income, climate change and focus on renewable energy — all indicate substantial rise in per capita energy needs, which presently is a third of world’s average.
As India’s structural story remains strong and expected to grow at a robust pace, energy remains a major catalyst for India to realize its growth target. Investors who wish to capture the energy investment opportunities can do so via mutual funds. Currently, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has a New Fund Offer (NFO) underway, focused on the energy sector, open from July 02 to July 16, 2024. The scheme’s investment universe includes companies involved in green energy, oil and gas sector, power and related sectors.
(The writer is Co-Founder, Financial Mart, J&K)