While many senior executives continue to talk about the "voice of the customer," few demonstrate their commitment to this concept by spending time with customers. Many continue to use their intuition or `golden gut' in their attempt to provide superior customer value. Unfortunately, `senior executive intuition' is rarely attuned to the needs of their customers. While the competitive environment continues to intensify, executives have cut back on the time devoted to customers just when it should be increasing. This article discusses the need for senior executives to spend time with customers and provides examples of the benefits that this approach will provide.

Ranking sixth in the world in terms of energy demands, India accounts for 3.5% of the world commercial energy demands. The projected GDP growth is 8% and the energy demand is expected to grow at 5.2%. The projected requirement of commercial energy is estimated at 412 million tons of oil equivalent by the end of Tenth Five Year Plan, which works out to an annual growth of 6.6%. While the current share of renewable energy accounts for only 6% of the total installed capacity, the renewable energy will produce 8000MW by the end of March 2008. With depletion in conventional energy sources and high cost of nuclear and petroleum sources, the only way to meet the increasing demand is tapping renewable energy sources like solar, wind and biomass, which can provide a cheap source of energy to the rural masses.

India ranks sixth in the world in terms of energy demands accounting for 3.5% of the world commercial energy demands. With a projected GDP growth of 8%, the energy demand is expected to grow at 5.2%. At 479 kilogram of oil equivalent, the per capita energy consumption is also very low when compared to some of the developing countries.

The recent sustained growth of GDP in India also necessitates increased energy requirements from all sectors like agricultural, manufacturing and service sectors. Economic growth calls for huge capacity expansions in the energy sector of the country. The objective of such expansions will have to give due weightage to the availability of natural fossil resources without adversely affecting the environment, climatic conditions and wild life.The Tenth Plan strategy aims at enhanced tapping of conventional energy sources, increasing the efficiency by advanced technologies/processes, including pollution reduction processes.

Growing India s Energy Needs: Tapping Renewable Energy Technologies, commercial energy demands, nuclear and petroleum sources, annual growth, energy consumption, climatic conditions, conventional energy sources, pollution reduction processes.