India’s Energy Transition: Mapping subsidies to fossil fuels and clean energy in India

The report provides the first comprehensive inventory of central government energy subsidies in India, covering coal, oil and gas, renewable energy, and electricity transmission and distribution (T&D). It finds that while total quantified subsidies declined from USD 35.8 billion in FY2014 to USD 20.4 billion in FY2016, support for fossil fuels remained more significant than for renewables. The study highlights a shift in the primary recipient of subsidies toward electricity T&D and notes that many consumer subsidies fail to reach the poorest populations, instead benefiting those above the poverty line.

• Total quantified energy subsidies from the central government decreased significantly between FY2014 and FY2016, falling from INR 216,408 crore (USD 35.8 billion) to INR 133,841 crore (USD 20.4 billion).
• Subsidies for electricity transmission and distribution (T&D) became the largest category of energy subsidies by FY2016, increasing from INR 40,331 crore (USD 6.7 billion) in FY2014 to INR 64,896 crore (USD 9.9 billion).
• Oil and gas subsidies saw a sharp decline, dropping from INR 157,678 crore (USD 26 billion) in FY2014 to INR 44,654 crore (USD 6.8 billion) in FY2016, driven by pricing reforms and lower global oil prices.
• Support for renewable energy increased substantially, with central government subsidies rising from INR 2,607 crore (USD 431 million) in FY2014 to INR 9,311 crore (USD 1.4 billion) in FY2016.
• Despite the growth in renewable support, the overall scale of subsidies for fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas) remained higher than those for renewables throughout the review period.
• Coal subsidies remained relatively stable, totaling INR 14,979 crore (USD 2.3 billion) in FY2016, with approximately 90 per cent provided through tax breaks.
• Consumer electricity subsidies in India are poorly targeted, with an estimated 87 per cent of payments going to households above the poverty line.

APA

Garg, V., Gerasimchuk, I., Beaton, C., Bandyopadhyay, K. R., Chugh, G., Gupta, A., Jain, A., Malhotra, R., Sodhi, G., Tripathi, S., Whitley, S., Worrall, L., Scott, A., & Patel, S. (2017). India’s Energy Transition: Mapping subsidies to fossil fuels and clean energy in India. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/india-energy-transition-summary.pdf

Chicago

Garg, Vibhuti, Ivetta Gerasimchuk, Christopher Beaton, Kaushik Ranjan Bandyopadhyay, Gurpreet Chugh, Ajit Gupta, Apurva Jain, et al. India’s Energy Transition: Mapping subsidies to fossil fuels and clean energy in India. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2017. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/india-energy-transition-summary.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{garg2017indias, author = {Garg, Vibhuti and Gerasimchuk, Ivetta and Beaton, Christopher and Bandyopadhyay, Kaushik Ranjan and Chugh, Gurpreet and Gupta, Ajit and Jain, Apurva and Malhotra, Ramit and Sodhi, Garima and Tripathi, Sagun and Whitley, Shelagh and Worrall, Leah and Scott, Andrew and Patel, Sejal}, title = {{India’s Energy Transition: Mapping subsidies to fossil fuels and clean energy in India}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2017}, month = nov, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/india-energy-transition-summary.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }