With doubling of its energy consumption over last twenty years, the energy consumption in India is expected to grow by another 25% by 2030. Moreover, to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2070, the government has been concentrating its efforts on progressively replacing fossil fuels with green alternatives. As per International Energy Agency, India’s clean energy investments have grown fast in the past three years in response to ambitious clean energy targets. On the financial market front, India launched sovereign green bond market in 2023, leading to a rise in clean energy investment to USD 68 billion in 2023 itself, which was up by nearly 40% from the 2016-2020 average.Spending in energy sector has reached up to USD 68 billion in 2023, up by nearly 40% from the 2016-2020 average, majorly devoted to low-emissions power generation like solar PVs.

The quest for harnessing green energy from varied sources is also a process for ensuring inclusive regional development. For instance, for harnessinghydropower, the Northeastern and Himalayan regions of India are the core regions with large amounts of untapped hydropower. Over the past two decades, India has doubled its hydropower generation from 73,579 GWh in 2002 to 2,098 GWh in 2023.Targeting these area for exploiting hydropower also tantamount to positive spillover in these economies through employment generation and infrastructure development.

India’s renewable initiatives also expand to other primary activities like mining. Even when it comes to fossil fuel generation, India is focussed on maintaining a balance between increasing coal mining output and strategic reduction of resulting byproducts of pollution through the use of cutting-edge technologies of green mining like surface miner, biotechnology solutions, or dust control systems, electrostatic precipitators, among others.

Under the National Hydrogen Mission, government is focussing on repurposing the phasing out coal mines for green hydrogen production which would entail a cost-effective solution in addressing problems of land and freshwater availability, along with infrastructure with for hydrogen production, along with providing employment opportunities to erst-while coal-dependent communities. The government’s Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) policy aims to influence the supply side by creating incentives for the manufacturing of electrolysers and incentives for the production of green hydrogen. In the initial stage, these two proposed financial incentives mechanisms are proposed with an outlay of ₹ 17,490 crore up to 2029-30.

The national energy policy has shown significant dynamism in meeting the energy needs of the nation, ranging from the National Solar Mission, the Green Energy Corridor Scheme, the PM-KUSUM scheme, and the recent "PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana (free electricity scheme). Given that often the renewable energy alternatives are less affordable for the people, the PM Surya Ghar project, with an investment of over Rs. 75,000 crores, aims to take care of the affordability front while lighting up one crore households by providing up to 300 units of free electricity every month. Under the scheme, households are provided with a subsidy to install solar panels on their roofs. The subsidy will cover up to 40% of the cost of the solar panels.

Moreover, on the employment front, India’s ambitious green endeavors are reaping promising results. India is the third largest market for third-largest automotive market with EV industry ballooning from US$ 3.21 billion in 2022 to US$ 113.99 billion by 2029, with a 66.52% CAGR.

Moreover, the Indian EV battery market is projected to surge from US$ 16.77 billion in 2023 to an appreciable US$ 27.70 billion by 2028. Under theFaster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid) and Electric Vehicles (FAME) schemes, India is emerging as a global hub for auto component sourcing, with a strong export orientation (exporting one-fourth of its production per annum).

India, an energy-hungry nation, has seen a rapid increase in its production potential and a drastic boost in its domestic demand, amounting to the fastest-growing, highly resilient economy with robust future prospects. With the flurry of schemes in line to achieve net zero emissions, ensure sustainability andaffordability in the green ecosystem, and swift transition to renewable power sources. The rampant adoption of EV-driven public transport and the phasing out of fossil fuel-driven buses in many cities of India is one such example. This is essential to achieving the objectives of the Lifestyle for the Environment (LiFE) Movement that Indian Prime minister Narendra Modi began the discourse about a few years back. In this, individuals are not passive recipients but active participants in making decisions for a cleaner environment, sustainability, and adoption of renewable energy. India’s ambitious projects are means to bring multi-dimensional changes in the existing ecosystem for renewable energy revolution. Sustainability, progressive reduction in emissions, inclusivity, and affordability are important tenets guiding India’s green mission. This is essentially exemplary for developing countries, which often face a classic development conundrum: to choose between growth or sustainability. India, with its progressive increase in green jobs, is an example of how efficiency and environmental equity can be achieved together. Growth and sustainability need not face a trade-off, and they can be achieved together through inclusive and thoughtful policies. Decoupling growth and its resulting environmental pressure is a formidable challenge, and it can be addressed with well-rounded policies. As mentioned, India’s hydropower mission is not just a project to harness the kinetic energy of water, it also entails an essential goal of development by focusing on less developed regions, thereby bridging regional disparities. Thus, India is expected to stand as the global lighthouse of sustainable development in 2025 and craft a blueprint for afuture path leading to economic growth and environmental stewardship together.