"India, the world's fourth-largest carbon emitter, is under pressure to cut pollution in the fight against climate change...
"If the Indian economy is not concerned at all with climate change ... and follows the business-as-usual path, the reality is even in business-as-usual we have to change from what we are today," Parikh said an interview.
"These are your imperatives in any way from your energy security point of view because we are very short of oil, very short of gas....
Most of India's coal is inferior in quality and highly polluting. About 70 million tonnes of coal is imported each year, mostly for making steel...
Parikh said given the dependence on coal, the only way forward was to enhance the efficiency of coal-based power plants by using technology such as super-critical boilers which would help cut coal use by about 20 per cent.
"In 10 years' time, half of my plants should be more efficient. In another 10 years, 75 per cent of the plants should be more efficient," he said"
