IEA launches first in-depth review of India’s energy policies

In partnership with NITI Aayog, International Energy Agency (IEA) released the first in-depth review of India’s energy policies.

The report highlights the achievements of India’s energy policies and provides recommendations to support the government’s goals of promoting well-functioning energy markets and boosting deployment of renewable.

Dr Fatih Birol (Executive Director of the IEA) presented the key findings of the review in New Delhi in the presence of Pralhad Joshi (Minister of Coal), Dharmendra Pradhan (Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Minister of Steel), R K Singh (Minister for Power and Renewable Energy), Dr Rajiv Kumar (Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog), Amitabh Kant (CEO of NITI Aayog), key energy secretaries, ambassadors and think tanks.

IEA regularly conducts in-depth reviews of energy policies for its member and association countries. This is the first review carried out for India, which has been an IEA-association country since March 2017.

Introducing the report, NITI Aayog Special Secretary RP Gupta welcomed and commended the hard work of the IEA. He said, ‘As India builds on the remarkable growth and development of its energy sector, this in-depth review will help the Government in meeting its energy objectives by setting out a range of recommendations in each energy policy area.’

NITI aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, who had brought up the idea with IEA to conduct the review, said: ‘With clear goals in place, the country is making great strides towards affordable, secure and cleaner energy for all its citizens. India is working hard to move towards its aspirations of transforming the energy sector.’

‘IEA has the privilege of enjoying a close relationship with India. This first in-depth review of the country’s energy policies illustrates the value of our growing collaboration,’ said Dr Birol.

‘The energy choices that India makes will be critical for Indian citizens as well as the future of the planet. This was demonstrated at IEA’s 2019 ministerial meeting, which mandated the Agency to start consultations with India for a strategic partnership that could serve as a path to eventual membership, a game-changer for international energy governance.’

The IEA report congratulates the Indian government on its outstanding achievements in extending citizens’ access to electricity, affordable efficient lighting and clean cooking in record time through historic schemes like Saubhagya, Ujala and Ujjwala, while pursuing energy market reforms and the swift deployment of renewable technologies. The report highlights the strong growth of renewable in India, which now accounts for almost 23 percent of the country’s total installed capacity. The review also found that energy efficiency improvements in India avoided 15 percent of additional energy demand, oil and gas imports, and air pollution as well as 300 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions between 2000 and 2018.

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