The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is, perhaps, a crisis too valuable to ignore. While some disruption is inevitable in the near term, within a timeframe of 5-10 years, more sustainable solutions may be found by realigning our energy dependence from external to internal sources.

What are these internal sources? We could “drill, baby drill” for oil and gas off the Andaman & Nicobar islands. However, this is a very capital-intensive undertaking with uncertain outcomes, and if successful, it will, based on evidence, take decades to exploit. Commercialising fossil-fuel alternatives from locally available resources is imperative, along with an alternative supply and distribution chain for LNG.

Based on current and emerging technologies, there are three feasible pathways for greater energy resilience: Widening electricity applications in transport, cooking, industrial process heat, and production of e-fuels; biofuels from agricultural residues and manure, municipal solid and liquid waste, and forestry biomass;…