NEW DELHI: India has joined the International Energy Agency as an associate member, a development that the IEA said makes the prestigious Paris-based body more relevant and reflects the country’s move to the centre stage of the global energy dialogue.Power, coal, renewable energy and mines minister Piyush Goyal , oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan and IEA executive director Fatih Birol announced India’s entry into the elite group which the developed countries had set up in in 1974 after the OPEC cartel shocked the world with a steep increase in oil prices.Goyal said India and its citizens had not made any additional obligations, but the country will now be involved in the key committees and dialogues of the IEA, and will be able to represent the interests of the emerging markets. Pradhan, who has held meaningful dialogues with OPEC members and negotiated more equitable terms of trade with Gulf suppliers, welcomed the move.IEA’s Birol said the inclusion of India, the world’s third-largest oil consumer, is an important achievement for the body that has acted as the energy watchdog for the developed world and has also promoted clean energy and environment protection. He said India has had significant success stories in the field of energy efficiency, renewable power generation and its drive to provide uninterrupted power supply to all its citizens.With India as a member, International Energy Agency now formally covers 70% of the world’s energy consumption. This increases the relevance of the IEA, Birol said. Goyal said India will now have a greater say in global energy issues.It has given an opportunity to India to be the voice of the developing world, he said. India is already a partner of the International Energy Agency, but the upgradation of the status will enhance its status and weight in its dialogue with major oil suppliers and consumers.In discussions with top oil exporters, Pradhan has already taken the lead in asserting India’s importance as a key buyer of the commodity. Early in his tenure, Pradhan had effectively challenged the imposition of the ‘Asian premium’, or the practice of oil exporters charging a higher price to developing countries compared with what the developed world pays for the same grade of oil.