Power Engineering Education in India: Past, Present and Future Scenario

Abstract

AbstractThe present paper deals with the sphere of Power Engineering and it’s past developments, current status and future scope of Power Engineering education in India. The aim of this manuscript is to explore the prevalent status of Power Engineering education in India from the grassroot level to Industry level applications, data has been collected from India’s premier Institutes of National Importance for this purpose. Introduction to Power Engineering has been given with India-specific past developments and current obstacles faced by the nation’s Power Engineering community in order to achieve a hundred percent electrification rate through clean and efficient means. India ranks second on the list of countries with the most population and seventh on the list of countries with the most land area, it is imperative that India becomes independent in terms of energy production, energy transmission and most importantly energy management. Electric power transmission-loss remains a major roadblock in the delivery of sufficient electric power to India’s citizens and the Power Engineers of India have to contribute to the best of their abilities in order to solve the problem of electric power transmission-loss in the worlds second most populated and seventh largest country. Challenges faced by Power Engineering aspirants and students who are pursuing undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Power Engineering have been analysed for every level of technical education available for students in India. Requirements for a Power Engineering Undergraduate aspirant currently in twelfth grade or currently pursuing a Diploma degree and requirements for a Power Engineering Post-Graduate currently in graduation have been explained separately using data from their syllabus which is verified by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), a regulatory body formulated by the Government of India to guide, promote and scrutinize technical education syllabus’ in all institutes and organizations of India concerned with science and technology. Since a large portion of India’s population resides in rural areas and indulges in agrarian based employment practises, the importance of the Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DUGJY) which is an initiative specifically formulated by the Government of India for electrification of India’s villages and rural areas has been explained, India is the second most populated country in the world and predominantly most of this population lives in villages, many of which are located in remote areas and thus it becomes nearly impossible to supply continuous electricity to these areas. As mentioned earlier a major part of India’s economy depends on agrarian products and by-products, thus it is imperative that Power Engineers of India contribute in the development of these areas through continuous supply of clean electrical power which helps in keeping the rural environments of India’s villages clean and green. Government of India’s approach towards marginalised sections of the Indian society for the implementations of these schemes so that they can offer last-mile connectivity has been statistically explained. Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) is being approached and implemented for using the sun as a source of electrical power on war-footing by the Government of India to meet the demands of the second most populated nation on the planet. Power Engineers have actively participated for the efficient utilization of India’s 7500-kilometre coastline in order to generate electrical power from the force of blowing wind, employment opportunities for Power Engineering aspirants, Power Engineering Graduate and Power Engineering Postgraduate students have been disclosed in this manuscript. Initiatives of the Government of India in developing and redefining Power Engineering courses through massive open online courses through National Program on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) which is an online based platform for students and academia alike, NPTEL lectures are available in video format and are delivered by faculties from India’s designated Institutes of National Importance. Past involvement of power engineers in the electrification of India and their role in research and development of new technologies such as ultra-high voltage direct current and superconductors has been scrutinized. In conclusion, future scope of Power Engineering and new technological research and developments have been mentioned with regards to Industrial Revolution 4.0. Possibilities of Power Engineering’s contribution in research and development of Smart-Grids, Micro-Grids and Electrical Power Management sourced from academia, which includes the fourth largest Ph.D. population on the planet and industry alike have been explored in this manuscript.