Do you think India will meet 50 percent of its energy needs from renewable energy by 2030? Justify your answer. How will the shift of subsidies from fossil fuels to renewables help achieve the above objective? Explain. (Answer in 250 words)

India’s 2030 renewable-energy ambition is achievable but conditional. Rapid solar and wind expansion is encouraging, yet the phrase “energy needs” must distinguish installed capacity, electricity generation and total primary energy.

Prospects and constraints

• Falling solar costs, domestic demand, green corridors and large solar-wind resources support accelerated deployment.
• Storage, transmission, land, intermittency, distribution-company finances, critical minerals and manufacturing capacity remain constraints.
• Coal will continue to meet reliability and industrial demand unless storage, grids and demand management scale rapidly.

How subsidy reallocation helps

• Reducing inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies corrects price signals, discourages pollution and releases fiscal space.
• Targeted support for rooftop solar, storage, clean cooking, electric mobility and grid modernisation lowers adoption barriers.
• Just-transition funds can protect coal-dependent workers and regions while financing reskilling.
• Carbon pricing and competitive auctions should complement subsidies and avoid rewarding non-performing projects.

Way forward

• Stable policy, domestic manufacturing, recycling, pumped storage, battery innovation, distribution reform and regional power trade are necessary.

Energy transition; installed capacity; storage; green corridors; fossil-fuel subsidy; just transition; grid integration.