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India's total installed power capacity stood at around 552 GW in July 2026, up from 249 GW in 2014, with non-fossil capacity at 300.50 GW as on 31 July 2026 — over 54% of the total.
Solar leads the renewable mix at 164.59 GW (31 July 2026), followed by wind at 58.14 GW, hydro at 57.24 GW, bio-power at 11.75 GW and nuclear at 8.78 GW.
Four large approvals in 2026 reshape the pipeline: a ₹37,500 crore surface coal/lignite gasification scheme (May 2026), the ₹5,070 crore Pradhan Mantri Surya Sarovar Yojana and the ₹84,084 crore 'Samudra Manthan' offshore exploration scheme (both 31 July 2026), and the ₹23,731 crore GOBARdhan circular bioenergy scheme (6 August 2026).
The 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam achieved first criticality on 6 April 2026, and India targets 100 GW of nuclear capacity by 2047 with ₹20,000 crore earmarked for Small Modular Reactors.
Coal still meets nearly 55% of primary energy needs and over 70% of electricity generation; production was 1,040.08 MT in FY2025-26 against 609.18 MT in FY2014-15, while thermal plants' coal imports fell about 27.4% to 45.4 MT.
Provide rooftop solar to one crore households and free electricity up to a limit
Key: Launched in February 2024 with a total outlay of ₹75,021 crore for 1 crore households. As on 12 August 2026, 51.58 lakh households were benefiting, ₹28,024 crore had been transferred as subsidy, 14.8 GW of rooftop capacity had been commissioned and nearly 19 lakh households were receiving zero electricity bills.
Develop floating solar photovoltaic projects paired with energy storage
Key: Approved on 31 July 2026 with a ₹5,070 crore outlay. Targets 5,000 MW of floating solar PV with co-located storage of at least two-hour duration, equal to 10,000 MWh, sanctioned between FY2026-27 and FY2030-31.
Solarise agriculture — secure energy and water for farmers and cut diesel use in irrigation
Key: Launched in March 2019 under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy with three components: Component A for 10,000 MW of decentralised ground/stilt-mounted grid-connected renewable plants, Component B for 14 lakh standalone solar agriculture pumps, and Component C for solarisation of 35 lakh grid-connected pumps including feeder-level solarisation.
Build a green hydrogen ecosystem for hard-to-abate sectors and strengthen energy security
Key: Approved in January 2023 with a ₹19,744 crore outlay, targeting 5 million metric tonnes of green hydrogen production by 2030. About 8,000 tonnes per annum of capacity had been commissioned by February 2026. In July 2026, 12 pilot projects covering 70 hydrogen-powered vehicles across 21 routes were launched, and India's first indigenous hydrogen fuel cell-powered train began running on the Jind-Sonipat section.
Expand compressed biogas output and build a national circular bioeconomy
Key: Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan; approved on 6 August 2026 with a ₹23,731 crore outlay for FY2026-27 to FY2035-36, aiming to raise domestic CBG production nearly ten-fold.
Support waste-to-energy, biomass and biogas projects through financial assistance
Key: Phase-I ran from FY2021-22 to FY2025-26 with an outlay of ₹858 crore. Grid-connected waste-to-energy capacity stood at 324.24 MW as on 31 July 2026, with another 554.16 MW off-grid.
Add small hydro capacity, especially in hilly and North-Eastern regions
Key: Approved in March 2026 for FY2026-27 to FY2030-31 with a ₹2,584.60 crore outlay, targeting about 1,500 MW through projects in the 1-25 MW range.
Convert coal and lignite into gas rather than burning it directly
Key: Approved in May 2026 with a ₹37,500 crore outlay. Expected to use about 75 MTPA of coal towards the national target of 100 MT of coal/lignite gasification by 2030, mobilise ₹2.5-3 lakh crore of investment and generate around 50,000 direct and indirect jobs across 25 projects.
Boost offshore oil and gas exploration and strengthen energy security
Key: Approved on 31 July 2026 with an ₹84,084 crore outlay, covering seismic surveys, deepwater exploratory drilling and offshore production and evacuation infrastructure.
Provide LPG connections to women of poor households in place of firewood, coal and dung cakes
Key: Launched on 1 May 2016 from Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. Refill delivery reached around 49.21 crore cylinders in FY2025-26; 25 lakh additional connections were approved in FY2025-26 of which 24.84 lakh had been released as on 5 August 2026.
Frame exploration, development and use of geothermal resources
Key: Notified on 15 September 2025. Five projects were sanctioned during July-August 2025, including a pilot production plant, resource-assessment projects and a solar-geothermal hybrid plant. India has cooperation mechanisms with Australia, Iceland, Saudi Arabia and the United States on geothermal energy.
Blend ethanol into petrol to cut crude imports and support sugarcane and grain farmers
Key: India achieved 20% ethanol blending (E20) in 2025, five years ahead of the original target, up from about 1.5% in 2014. Blending had crossed 10% in 2022.
Enables private-sector participation in setting up nuclear facilities and in the production, use and disposal of nuclear energy under licence. It caps maximum liability for each nuclear incident at the rupee equivalent of 300 million Special Drawing Rights or an amount specified by the Central Government, and gives the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board statutory status.
The two statutes that governed India's nuclear sector before the SHANTI Act, which replaces them. Under the earlier regime, plant operation was effectively confined to public-sector entities.
Created in 1983 by executive order rather than by statute; the demand for statutory backing dates to the 1980s and is met by the SHANTI Act, which also makes the Board accountable to Parliament.
Built the 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor, which was technologically developed by the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research and attained first criticality on 6 April 2026, taking India into the second stage of its three-stage nuclear programme
Treaty-based international organisation for solar cooperation, jointly launched by India and France
Developed the fast breeder reactor technology used in the PFBR; a Department of Atomic Energy research centre
Estimated India's geothermal potential at about 10,600 MW based on exploration across 381 hot springs, identifying 42 promising geothermal manifestations
| Source | Installed capacity | Notable marker |
|---|---|---|
| Solar | 164.59 GW | Largest single renewable component; 2.8 GW in 2014 |
| Wind | 58.14 GW | India ranks fourth globally; 6.05 GW added in FY2025-26, a record |
| Hydro | 57.24 GW | Includes large and small hydro; supports grid stability |
| Bio-power | 11.75 GW | 9,821.32 MW bagasse-based, 1,048.84 MW non-bagasse cogeneration |
| Nuclear | 8.78 GW | Projected 22.38 GW by 2031-32; target 100 GW by 2047 |
| Non-fossil total | 300.50 GW | Over 54% of the roughly 552 GW total capacity |
Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana launched from Ballia, Uttar Pradesh
PM-KUSUM launched with three components for solarising agriculture
National Green Hydrogen Mission approved — ₹19,744 crore, 5 MMT by 2030
PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana launched — ₹75,021 crore for 1 crore households
Union Cabinet approves a ₹7,453 crore viability gap funding scheme for 1 GW of offshore wind
India achieves 20% ethanol blending in petrol, five years ahead of the original target
National Policy on Geothermal Energy notified
SHANTI Act enacted, opening nuclear power to private participation and giving AERB statutory status
Small Hydro Power Development Scheme approved — ₹2,584.60 crore for about 1,500 MW
500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam attains first criticality
₹37,500 crore surface coal/lignite gasification scheme approved
PM Surya Sarovar Yojana (₹5,070 crore) and 'Samudra Manthan' offshore exploration scheme (₹84,084 crore) approved
GOBARdhan National Circular Bioenergy Scheme approved — ₹23,731 crore for FY2026-27 to FY2035-36
Stage one uses pressurised heavy water reactors fuelled by natural uranium, producing plutonium as a by-product. Stage two uses fast breeder reactors fuelled by that plutonium; because a breeder produces more fissile material than it consumes, it multiplies the usable fuel and also converts thorium into uranium-233. Stage three then runs thorium-uranium-233 reactors, using India's large thorium resource for the long term. The 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam — designed by IGCAR, built by BHAVINI, first criticality on 6 April 2026 — is the bridge into stage two, which is why its criticality is treated as a landmark rather than merely another 500 MW of capacity. Fast breeder reactors also reduce nuclear waste, since they consume spent fuel from the first stage.
Simple Analogy: Stage one burns the matchsticks you have; stage two is a fire that leaves behind more matchsticks than it used; stage three finally lights the very large woodpile — thorium — that could not be lit directly.
India's NDC targets include raising the non-fossil share of installed electric power capacity — the 300.50 GW and over-54% figures are precisely the numbers used to report progress on that target.
Solar modules, wind turbines, batteries and electrolysers all depend on minerals with concentrated global supply, tying the energy build-out to the National Critical Mineral Mission and rare earth magnet manufacturing.
GOBARdhan began as a waste-to-wealth initiative linked to rural sanitation before becoming a ₹23,731 crore national circular bioenergy scheme in August 2026 — a scheme whose lineage runs through sanitation policy, not energy policy.
Ethanol blending, falling thermal coal imports and offshore exploration under 'Samudra Manthan' all bear on the oil import bill and hence on the current account deficit — the standard economy angle on energy questions.
GS Paper 3 > Infrastructure: Energy; and Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation
General Awareness > Government Schemes and Static Economy
General Awareness > Indian Economy and Infrastructure
Energy capacity, renewable targets and nuclear policy appear in Prelims almost every year and recur in GS3 Mains
Installed electricity generation capacity from renewables, large hydro and nuclear — 300.50 GW as on 31 July 2026, over 54% of India's total.
Purified biogas compressed for use as vehicle and industrial fuel; 1,929 CBG/Bio-CNG plants were registered as on 13 August 2026.
The moment a reactor first sustains a controlled nuclear chain reaction; the PFBR reached it on 6 April 2026.
Government capital support that makes a project commercially viable — used for the ₹7,453 crore offshore wind scheme approved on 19 June 2024.
The IMF's reserve asset unit; the SHANTI Act caps liability per nuclear incident at the rupee equivalent of 300 million SDR or an amount the Centre specifies.
Solar panels mounted on water bodies, the technology targeted by the ₹5,070 crore PM Surya Sarovar Yojana for 5,000 MW with co-located storage.