India’s economic rise and energy transition take centre stage at India Energy Week

From the tenth largest a decade back to the fifth largest now, the Indian economy has made giant strides, positioning itself as a significant player in the global economic order.

“India is driving not only its growth but also the growth of the world, with the energy sector playing a significant role,” said Hon'ble Shri Narendra Modi, India’s Prime Minister, inaugurating the third edition of India Energy Week (IEW) in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Addressing the gathering at the India Energy Week 2025 virtually, Hon'ble Prime Minister Modi highlighted five pillars, including harnessing resources, encouraging innovation among brilliant minds, economic strength and political stability, strategic geography making energy trade attractive and easier, and commitment to global sustainability, are shouldering India’s energy ambitions.

Prime Minister Modi outlined India’s achievements in the past decade in various areas of energy transition. India’s solar energy generation capacity has increased 32 times during the period, and the country has made huge strides in all areas of the energy economy. With the country’s heavy thrust on domestic manufacturing, the Prime Minister asked all constituents to invest in the country that seeks to provide solutions that energise growth and enrich nature simultaneously. India seeks to achieve net zero by 2070.

In his opening remark, His Excellency Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said climate change was no longer a looming threat. “It is already here. It is unfolding in many grave disasters, wildfires, floods, and record-breaking temperatures are clear reminders that the world is running out of time,” H.E. Puri said.

However, he added that the very notion of “energy transition” called for a nuanced understanding. Ensuring fair and accessible energy must be a priority in the upcoming transition, H.E. Puri emphasised, highlighting that an uncoordinated approach could widen gaps in energy access, leaving billions without reliable power while others progress rapidly. “If the transition is not just, it will not succeed because the political economy will not allow it,” he said.

Following the inauguration, a ministerial panel on “Shaping a New World Energy Order and Trade Map” convened His Excellency Eng. Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Minister of Energy in Qatar and President & CEO of Qatar Energy, His Excellency Dr. Doto Mashaka Biteko, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy in Tanzania, and the Rt. Hon. Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero in the United Kingdom. The ministers unanimously agreed that while the energy transition is essential for a sustainable future, the approach will vary by country based on resource availability, expertise, and economic feasibility.

Source: India Energy Week Show Dailies Team

H.E Minister Al-Kaabi stressed the need to balance energy security, affordability, and sustainability while stating that “energy poverty exists in the world.” And to minimise or eliminate that, the Minister called the nations to tap all possible sources according to their strength which would also help a nation to hedge itself from the price volatility.

Rt Hon Miliband said, “There is a common narrative among all of us that we want to achieve economic growth and development, energy security, and tackling climate change together. It’s not a question of “either”, or” - we need all of those together.”

Hon. Dr. Biteko said, “The world is very dynamic; we can’t be static. We have to face reality. The notion that” one size fits all” can’t work in the current world. The situation in Qatar is quite different from the situation in Tanzania; the situation in India is different from some other countries. The bottom line is we just want to make our people have access to energy. Which way one takes, it is not one size fit-all; it can be different from country to country.”