With a population of 1.4 billion and one of the world's fastest-growing major economies, India will be vital for the future of the global energy markets.The Government of India has made impressive progress in recent years in increasing citizens' access to electricity and clean cooking. It has also successfully implemented a range of energy market reforms and carried out a huge amount of renewable electricity deployment, notably in solar energy.<br />'' <br />''The government has laid out an ambitious vision to bring secure, affordable and sustainable energy to all its citizens.<br />'' Around 700 million people in India gained access to electricity between 2000 and 2018, reflecting strong and effective policy implementation. The government of India has also made significant progress in reducing the use of traditional biomass in cooking, the chief cause of indoor air pollution that particularly affects women and children.Increased access to affordable energy has raised the living standards of all segments of the population.<br />'' <br />'' India's electricity security has improved markedly through the creation of a single national power system and major investments in thermal and renewable capacity. Coal continues to be the largest domestic source of energy supply and electricity generation in India. India is the world's third largest consumer of oil, the fourth largest oil refiner and a net exporter of refined products. <br />'' <br />'' The rate of growth of India's oil consumption is expected to surpass that of the People's Republic of China in the mid-2020s, making India a very attractive market for refinery investment. India's oil import dependency (above 80% in 2018) is going to increase significantly in the coming decades. India's current strategic reserve capacity of 40 million barrels can cover just over 10 days of current net imports. However, given the expected growth in oil consumption, the same volume may cover only four days of net imports in 2040.<br />'' <br />''The government aims to increase the share of natural gas in the country's energy mix to 15% by 2030, from 6% today. The role of gas has grown in India's residential and transport sectors but fallen in power generation, where imported natural gas remains squeezed by cheap renewables and coal. India has taken significant steps to improve energy efficiency, which have avoided an additional 15% of annual energy demand and 300 million tonnes of CO2 emissions over the period 2000 18, according to IEA analysis.<br />'' <br />'' The government's LED programme has radically pushed down the price of the products in the global market and helped create local manufacturing jobs to meet the demand for energy-efficient lighting. Both the energy and emission intensities of India's gross domestic product (GDP) have decreased by more than 20% over the past decade. India's per capita emissions today are 1.6 tonnes of CO2, well below the global average of 4.4 tonnes, while its share of global total CO2 emissions is some 6.4%.<br />'' <br />'' Based on current policies, India's energy demand could double by 2040, with electricity demand potentially tripling as a result of increased appliance ownership and cooling needs. Recent IEA analysis shows that in 2018, India's investment in solar PV was greater than in all fossil fuel sources of electricity generation together.<br />'' By December 2019, India had deployed a total of 84 GW of grid-connected renewable electricity capacity. By comparison, India's total generating capacity reached 366 GW in 2019. India is making progress towards its target of 175 GW of renewables by 2022. <br />'' <br />'' Energy research, development and deployment (RD&D) can be a strong enabler of India's energy policy goals while also contributing to broader national priorities such as the "Make in India" manufacturing initiative.Recent years have shown a marked increase in clean energy RD&D funding, especially as India works to double its spending over five years under Mission Innovation. <br />'' <br />'' Good quality and timely energy data are vital for monitoring, reviewing progress and enforcing the implementation of energy policies. The government has identified the critical importance of energy data and is taking action to improve their collection and dissemination.<br />'' <br />'' The IEA highly commends the Government of India for this outstanding result and supports its efforts to shift the focus towards reaching isolated areas and ensuring round-the-clock reliability of electricity supply.<br />'' <br />'' The IEA also commends India for its continuous pursuit of market opening and greater use of market-based solutions through ambitious energy sector reforms.<br />'' <br />'' The IEA welcomes the government's decisions to allow private-sector investment in coal mining, and to open up the country's oil and gas retail markets. <br />'' <br />'' The IEA welcomes the reforms proposed by the Central Energy Regulatory Commission (CERC) and progress made towards improved real-time markets.<br />'' <br />'' A country-wide wholesale market is very much needed as a backbone for the national grid. To fully activate a diverse set of flexibility options, it is critical for the government to put in place electricity market reforms that enable the appropriate price signals and create a robust regulatory framework. The creation of a competitive wholesale power market will be vital for improving the utilisation of India's generation capacity. <br />'' <br />'' Coal continues to be the largest domestic source of energy supply and electricity generation. Amid more stringent air pollution regulations, new coal power plants that are more efficient, flexible and relatively lower in emissions will be better positioned for their economic viability. It is important that the government pursue the second phase of its strategic stockholding policy, which would add an additional 50 million barrels reserve capacity, and also prepares subsequent phases.<br />'' <br />'' A liquid and well-functioning domestic gas market would be a strong pillar for India's security of gas supply.<br />'' India will need to add massive amounts of power generation capacity to meet demand from the 1 billion air-conditioning units the country is expected to have by 2050.<br />''  <br />'' India is particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts and is exposed to growing water stress, storms, floods and other extreme weather events. Adaptation and resilience of the energy system to these extreme climate conditions should be a high political priority. India could benefit from integrating RD&D priorities with broader energy policy goals. Adopting an overarching energy RD&D strategy would provide a framework for coordinating the widespread activities of ministries that are engaged in directing, performing and funding energy RD&D.<br />'' <br />'' The draft National Energy Policy by NITI Aayog, currently under consultation, is an excellent framework and should be adopted swiftly to guide policy making, implementation and enforcement across central and state governments.