INDIA GREEN ECONOMY BAROMETER 2018

The India Green Economy Barometer 2018 report assesses India's progress toward a sustainable and inclusive economy. It finds that while India has high potential and has made significant strides in renewable energy and corporate social responsibility, the overall transition is slow and insufficient. The report highlights critical barriers, including the perception that environmental protection hinders economic growth, and calls for systemic reforms in finance, national accounting, and high-impact sectors like agriculture and construction to ensure a fair and green transition.

• India's transition to a green economy is progressing slowly and is currently insufficient to meet the country's needs. In the 2016 Global Green Economy Index (GGEI), India ranked 68 out of 80 countries, performing poorly in leadership, climate change, and efficiency sectors, although it ranked near the top twenty in markets and investment.
• India faces severe ecological and social pressures that make a 'business-as-usual' approach unsustainable. The country's ecological footprint is double its bio-capacity, and if current natural resource overuse continues, consumption levels could equal those of all 34 OECD countries combined within 14 years.
• Significant progress has been made in the energy sector, specifically in solar power. India's solar capacity increased from 2.6 GW in 2014 to 20.0 GW by January 2018, and total installed renewable energy capacity reached 114.43 GW by May 2018, representing approximately 33% of the country's total energy capacity.
• India has established a unique legal framework for corporate social responsibility (CSR), mandating a 2% spend for companies meeting specific profit, net worth, or turnover thresholds. In 2015, Indian companies spent over INR 250 billion on CSR.
• The agricultural sector faces significant economic instability, with 85% of farmers being small-scale or marginal. In the 2015-16 reference year, the average outstanding debt for indebted agricultural households was INR 1,04,602, nearly equal to the average annual income of INR 1.07 lakhs.
• Efforts to value nature and internalize environmental externalities are in early stages. While the government has used tools like the Clean Environment Cess on coal (which accrued over INR 530 billion since 2010), the plan to publish 'green GDP' figures has been put on hold due to lack of budgets and micro-level data.
• Key barriers to the green transition include the prevailing belief among policymakers and businesses that environmental protection hinders economic growth, the nascent state of green investment financial markets, and the perception that green technology is not cost-competitive or reliable.

APA

Bhamra, A., Medha, Patel, S. C., & Singh, T. (2018). INDIA GREEN ECONOMY BAROMETER 2018. Green Economy Coalition. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/Barometers-2018/India-Barometer-2018-Full-November-Draft.pdf

Chicago

Bhamra, Anshul, Medha, Sonia Cyrus Patel, and Tarang Singh. INDIA GREEN ECONOMY BAROMETER 2018. Green Economy Coalition, 2018. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/Barometers-2018/India-Barometer-2018-Full-November-Draft.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bhamra |first1=Anshul |last2=Medha |last3=Patel |first3=Sonia Cyrus |last4=Singh |first4=Tarang |title=INDIA GREEN ECONOMY BAROMETER 2018 |publisher=Green Economy Coalition |date=2018 |url=https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/Barometers-2018/India-Barometer-2018-Full-November-Draft.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bhamra2018india, author = {Bhamra, Anshul and Medha and Patel, Sonia Cyrus and Singh, Tarang}, title = {{INDIA GREEN ECONOMY BAROMETER 2018}}, institution = {Green Economy Coalition}, year = {2018}, url = {https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/Barometers-2018/India-Barometer-2018-Full-November-Draft.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }