India stands at the threshold of its next energy frontier. Having met key Paris Agreement targets ahead of schedule, including achieving 50% non-fossil fuel capacity by 2024 and sharply reducing emissions intensity. India’s challenge now lies not in commitment but in scaling transformation.

As the world’s fastest-growing major economy and fourth-largest renewable energy market, India must now bridge the gap between installed capacity and actual generation, balance its developmental imperatives with decarbonization goals, and design systems that make clean energy both reliable and affordable. This discussion will explore how India can operationalise this next frontier through innovative financing, technology partnerships, and regulatory coherence to build an energy system, at scale, that is both resilient and equitable.

• India has overachieved many of its climate targets, but how can the focus now move beyond just capacity addition to system-wide transformation that delivers actual emissions reduction and economic competitiveness?
• What innovative financial instruments, regulatory reforms, and public–private models can help bridge India’s clean energy financing gap?
• What should India’s strategy be to leverage international finance, technology transfer, and climate diplomacy to not just meet its goals, but lead the next phase of global energy transition?

Moderator

R Srikanth, Dean, School of Science and Engineering, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Karnataka

Speakers

Ganesh Dileep, Chief of Staff, Centre for Energy, Environment and Water, New Delhi

Puja Mitra, Partnerships and Policy Lead, Dakshin Foundation, Karnataka

Kailash Dalabehera, Executive Director, The Energy Forum, New Delhi

Kishore Kumar Dhavala, Associate Professor, Nalanda University, Bihar

Anandajit Goswami, Senior Research Fellow, Ashoka Centre for People-centric Energy Transition, New Delhi