The year 2025 witnessed a concerted push from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and allied ministries to address long-standing bottlenecks in deployment, manufacturing, and grid integration, while simultaneously laying the groundwork for the next phase of growth of India’s renewable energy sector centered on quality, security, and market-based mechanisms. The year began…
The year 2025 for India’s electric mobility transition was characterized by a series of targeted policy interventions, manufacturing incentives, infrastructure expansions, and strategic pilot projects. From the launch of new manufacturing schemes and tighter domestic sourcing mandates to the rollout of financial incentives for commercial vehicles and the establishment of a national charging ecosystem, the…
The year 2025 began with significant momentum in planning and regulatory clarity for India’s power transmission and distribution landscape. The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) took a decisive step in January by proposing amendments to its Transmission Planning Criteria manual to establish regional standing committees for reviewing intrastate and interstate transmission systems. This move, aimed at…
India’s green hydrogen sector has transitioned from a nascent vision to a landscape dotted with concrete policy frameworks, ambitious pilot projects, and strategic international positioning. The year 2025 has been pivotal in establishing the operational, financial, and regulatory architecture necessary to transform the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM) from a statement of intent into a…
While the national gaze remained firmly fixed on the rapid expansion of renewable capacity, the bedrock of coal-based thermal power underwent substantive regulatory and operational shifts in 2025 to ensure grid reliability, address financial sustainability, and navigate an increasingly complex compliance landscape. A cornerstone development was the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs’ approval of the…
The year 2025 marked a pivotal period for India’s energy storage landscape, transitioning from conceptual discussions to a concrete regulatory and implementation framework. Driven by the imperative to integrate a massive pipeline of renewable energy and ensure grid stability, the government and its agencies rolled out a series of guidelines, mandates, and support mechanisms specifically…
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has reported major deficiencies in the planning, execution, financial management, and monitoring of the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) and the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (SAUBHAGYA).  The Government of India launched the schemes to improve rural electricity access and reliability. The Deen…
The 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) concluded on November 22, having extended one day beyond its scheduled end. COP30 ended with the Global Mutirão Agreement, a political package that sets a new climate finance target and commits countries to prepare two major roadmaps. One…
Thermal power remains central to India’s electricity system. It continues to anchor grid stability even as renewable capacity grows at a rapid pace. According to the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), India’s total installed capacity reached 500,889 MW by the end of September 2025. Thermal power accounted for 244,800 MW, or 48.87 per cent of the…
The Great Indian Bustard is close to extinction. Fewer than 200 birds remain in the wild, and most of them live in the arid grasslands of Rajasthan and Gujarat. The species is among the heaviest flying birds in the world and depends on large, undisturbed grasslands to survive. Its numbers have declined due to shrinking…