India emerging as global model for clean industrialisation: Report
New Delhi, May 16
India may be emerging as a global example of how developing economies can industrialise without first becoming deeply dependent on fossil fuels, according to a new analysis by energy think tank Ember.
The report, written by energy experts Kingsmill Bond and Sumant Sinha cited by Forbes, argues that India's rapid shift towards solar power, electrification and clean technologies could challenge the century-old model of economic development built around coal, oil and gas.
For decades, industrial growth across the West and later China followed a similar path -- moving from biomass to coal and fossil fuels before eventually transitioning towards cleaner energy systems after years of pollution-intensive growth.
However, the Ember analysis suggests that India could be following a different route by adopting what it describes as an "electrotech fast-track."
According to the report, India is increasingly moving directly towards an electricity-driven economy powered by solar energy, batteries, electric vehicles, digital technologies and electrification, instead of locking itself into long-term fossil fuel dependency.
The analysis noted that while many Indian cities, including New Delhi, continue to struggle with severe air pollution linked to coal-fired power plants, vehicle emissions and agricultural burning, India's broader energy transition trajectory appears significantly different from the fossil-heavy industrialisation path previously taken by Western nations and China.
Ember said solar power accounted for nearly 9 per cent of India's electricity generation in 2025, compared to around 0.5 per cent a decade ago.
At a comparable level of economic development, China had only negligible solar generation, the report noted.
The report further highlighted that India reached a 5 per cent solar share in electricity generation at a much lower GDP per capita level than China did, suggesting that renewable energy is entering India's industrial growth phase much earlier.
According to the analysis, India is also electrifying transportation faster than China did at a similar stage of development.
It added that solar and wind electricity generation per capita in India is now substantially higher than what China had achieved at a comparable income level.
However, the report cautioned that India's transition remains incomplete, as coal continues to play a major role in the country's energy mix.
It also pointed to several challenges, including grid bottlenecks, storage deployment, land acquisition, financial stress in distribution companies and coal-sector dependence.
According to Ember, solar-plus-storage systems in India are now nearly half the cost of building new coal plants, with the gap expected to widen further as renewable technologies become cheaper and coal plants face declining utilisation rates.
— IANS
Reader Comments
As someone who works in renewable energy consulting, I've seen this shift firsthand in states like Gujarat and Rajasthan. The solar parks there are incredible. But I worry about the coal-dependent states - we need a just transition for workers in Jharia and Raniganj. It's not just about technology, it's about people's livelihoods.
Finally some positive news about India! We always hear about pollution problems but rarely about our progress. My family in Kerala has installed solar panels on our roof and our electricity bills have dropped by 40%. Though the initial cost was high - hope subsidies become more accessible for middle-class families like ours. 😊
The comparison with China's industrialization path is very apt. We're leapfrogging directly to cleaner tech, much like how we skipped landlines and went straight to mobile phones in the 2000s. But I worry about our storage infrastructure - solar is intermittent and we haven't seen large-scale battery parks being built. That should be a national priority.
Good but we need more concrete action on reducing coal dependency. Solar is only 9% of generation - coal still dominates. The transition sounds nice in reports but ground reality is different. Land acquisition for solar farms is a big issue in rural areas where farmers aren't being compensated fairly. Let's not pat ourselves too much on the back.
Having visited India multiple times for work, I've noticed the difference in air quality compared to even 5 years ago. But the EV adoption in Bangalore and Mumbai is impressive - you see so many electric aut
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