India has done well to live up to commitments it made at the COP Summit in Glasgow -- a 500 GW renewable energy economy and raising the share of non-fossil fuel energy to 50% by 2030. But reaching a net zero state is an uphill task. Former Industry Secretary Ajay Shankar, who has recently authored a book on this subject, joins me to discuss India’s green energy transition and the path toward net-zero emissions by 2070.

Shankar highlights that successful past initiatives, such as widespread rural electrification and the rapid expansion of solar energy capacity, were driven by innovative private sector bidding and long-term power purchase agreements. To overcome current hurdles like power curtailment and reliance on foreign supply chains, Shankar recommends rapidly scaling up energy storage solutions, including pumped storage systems. He also proposes extending long-term procurement contracts to domestic manufacturing and hard-to-abate industrial sectors to produce cost-competitive green products. Ultimately, these pragmatic policy strategies can help India achieve sustainable economic growth while creating decentralised employment opportunities and ensuring equitable benefits for its citizens.