An Assessment of India’s Energy Choices: What it Means for the Economy, Jobs, and Energy Security

This executive summary, produced by Jawaharlal Nehru University and the Indian Institute of Technology for the Climate Policy Initiative, analyzes the macroeconomic impacts of renewable energy penetration in India. Using macro-econometrics and time series methods, the report examines the relationship between renewable energy and factors such as GDP, fiscal deficit, energy imports, and employment to project future energy scenarios and job creation potential.

• Renewable energy generation in India is positively correlated with GDP growth, lower fiscal deficits, reduced net energy imports, and lower unemployment. The analysis suggests that higher incomes increase the demand for cleaner energy and that increasing renewable penetration can reduce the fiscal deficit by lowering the share of fossil energy generation.
• India is unlikely to meet its target of 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022. Depending on the scenario, the target is projected to be reached between 2027-28 (optimistic), 2029-30 (business as usual), and 2032-33 (pessimistic). Under the optimistic scenario, India would achieve less than half of the 175 GW target by 2022.
• Renewable energy expansion has significant potential for job creation. Under an optimistic scenario, India could add 4.52 million domestic jobs by 2042. For the year 2022, direct incremental job generation is estimated at 251,000 (pessimistic), 286,000 (business as usual), and 311,000 (optimistic).
• India's energy security, measured by the energy security index (ESI), is currently low at 0.41. While it is projected to improve under all scenarios, the highest improvement is in the optimistic scenario, where the ESI reaches 0.44 in 2022 and 0.58 by 2042, representing a more than 40% improvement.
• The analysis found two unexpected correlations: renewable energy growth is correlated with higher interest rates, and higher population levels or higher energy access are associated with less renewable energy generation.

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2018). An Assessment of India’s Energy Choices: What it Means for the Economy, Jobs, and Energy Security. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/What-it-Means-for-the-Economy-Jobs-and-Energy-Security_Executive-Summary.pdf

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. An Assessment of India’s Energy Choices: What it Means for the Economy, Jobs, and Energy Security. 2018. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/What-it-Means-for-the-Economy-Jobs-and-Energy-Security_Executive-Summary.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=An Assessment of India’s Energy Choices: What it Means for the Economy, Jobs, and Energy Security |date=May 2018 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/What-it-Means-for-the-Economy-Jobs-and-Energy-Security_Executive-Summary.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2018assessment, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{An Assessment of India’s Energy Choices: What it Means for the Economy, Jobs, and Energy Security}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2018}, month = may, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/What-it-Means-for-the-Economy-Jobs-and-Energy-Security_Executive-Summary.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }