Energy consumption in India has increased greatly since the 1980s, but domestic production has remained sluggish. Renewable energy now offers a remedy to the low domestic production levels.

The signing of Paris agreement by India, concomitant with its submission for Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC), has charted out the path that India plans to adopt for energy security. While India’s plan in the past has always looked good on the paper, how far India would be able to meet the target leaves a big question mark. In addition, India’s submission to INDC fails to address how India would meet its energy security in the transportation sector.

In recent times, the growth of hydropower has received a set back as negative externalities of hydropower are taken into project accounting and companies need to compensate the stakeholders for the same. However, hydropower companies are not compensated for the positive externalities in terms of better environment after completion of the projects.

There is an intrinsic relationship between energy uses and economic development and India needs, at the very least, to increase its primary energy supply by 3 to 4 times and, its electricity generation capacity/supply by 5 to 6 times of their 2003 levels.

What if India's pathway to net zero does not end at factories—but begins where terrestrial meets the coastal? As carbon emissions rise and climate risks intensify, the search for solutions has largely remained confined to land-based approaches. Yet beneath the waves lies an overlooked trillion-dollar economic and ecological frontier, one that can absorb carbon, shield coastlines, and sustain growth. The question is no longer whether the blue economy matters, but why it remains on the margins of India’s climate strategy.