INDIA'S ENERGY TRANSITION The Challenge with Decision-Making at a Time of Rapid Change
Energy Future|April - June 2020
India has set ambitious targets towards the achievement of the dual goals of climate action and sustainable development through its nationally determined contributions and energy access commitments. As India starts a new decade of energy transition, it is an opportune time to assess where India stands in achieving its targets as well as to identify the key challenges being faced during this transition. Parul Kumar and Bharath Jairaj discuss these issues and offer insights into solutions that can help India achieve its goals.
Parul Kumar and Bharath Jairaj
INDIA'S ENERGY TRANSITION The Challenge with Decision-Making at a Time of Rapid Change

As national and state governments determine their socio-economic and development plans, India’s national and global commitments in the energy sector provide important guidance to policymakers. This article attempts to examine where India stands today in its progress towards achieving these goals, particularly in light of recent challenges in the sector. Along with the need for advancements in the techno-commercial realm of the electricity sector, it is also necessary to tackle the problems of policy uncertainty and acknowledge the specific challenges of specific states. The article examines how issues of governance in the electricity sector can be better addressed, particularly in India’s federal context.

India’s Energy Transition: ContextSetting

India’s energy transition is characterized by its ambitious targets. By the year 2022, India seeks to provide all households in the country 24×7 power. By 2022, India also seeks to install 175 GW of new renewable energy (RE) in the country.1 These national targets are aligned with India’s climate commitments made at the 21st Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), also known as the Paris Agreement, which came into force in November 2016.2 Through this landmark international agreement, countries collectively committed themselves to the goals of strengthening the global response to climate change in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty.3

This story is from the April - June 2020 edition of Energy Future.

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This story is from the April - June 2020 edition of Energy Future.

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