India's Energy Strategy by 2035 and Its Implications for I. R. of Iran

The energy sector is a most promising area for commercial interactions between Iran and India. India is expected to become the third biggest oil consumer in the World by 2035, thanks to the country’s high population and high rate of economic growth.  On the other hand, Iran holds the world's largest gas reserves and third largest oil reserves, as such is able to meet India’s energy needs for a long time. Energy thus offers huge potential for expansion of mutual relations between the two countries.  This potential, however, remains unrealized due to international sanctions against Iran and negative role of the USA.  This paper tries to explore India's long-term strategy for ensuring its energy security and Iran’s potential place in New Delhi’s future energy calculus? This paper contends that India cannot ignore Iran in meeting its energy needs,  particularly with respect to gas, in view of the uncertainty of other potential  sources in terms of price, security and sustainability of supply.