Mapping India's energy subsidies 2021: time for renewed support to clean energy.

Abstract

Government support is more important than ever for the energy transition in the wake of COVID-19, as governments around the world take unprecedented measures to help stimulate economic recovery. Shifting government support from fossil to clean energy can ensure that every rupee of public money helps access, affordability, energy security and the shift to a low-carbon economy. This report examines how the Government of India has used subsidies to support different types of energy from FY 2014 until FY 2020, and draws on qualitative data to describe major shifts since the onset of COVID-19. In light of the government commitments to Aatmanirbhar Bharat ("self-reliant India"), it also includes two special thematic chapters. The first explores how subsidy policy can best promote solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing as part of the road to 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030. The second examines how investments by public sector undertakings (PSUs) - that is, enterprises where the government is the majority owner - are supporting clean energy. Our data, summarized in Figure ES1, cover all subsidies from production to consumption for coal, oil and gas, electricity transmission and distribution (T&D), renewable energy, and electric vehicles (EVs). Nuclear and hydropower are not included due to a lack of adequate data availability. The underlying data are available online and have been made easier to explore with an accompanying data portal.

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https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1763855