India

India's rank on the World Energy Council's (WEC) energy sustainability index 2012 has dropped down four places to a lowly 93 from last year, with the country's weak social equity and environmental footprint still posing a challenge for a sustainable and environmentally-sensitive energy system. 8WEC's latest report titled 'World Energy Trilemma: 2012 Energy Sustainability Index' highlights the plight of developing countries to use cleaner forms of energy on the path of industrialization, and juggle three main goals -- energy security, social equity and environmental impact mitigation -- to provide affordable energy to consumers. 8Balancing these 3 dimensions, or 'trilemma' as WEC puts it, can be a difficult act and requires strong political and economic frameworks. 8While few emerging countries have strengthened their energy policies and managed to climb up the index chart, albeit slowly, India's under-performance casts a serious doubt on whether the country can achieve its energy-related goals in the near future. 8To gain an insight into the challenges faced by WEC member countries, the energy council introduced a more intricate index analysis wherein nations are categorized into four economic groups A, B, C and D based on gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. 8Amongst 24 developing nations that are clubbed together in Group D, with GDP per capita below US $ 6,000, India grabbed the twenty-third position, one level below Pakistan and at least 14 spots behind Sri Lanka for the year 2012.