BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY'S RELATIONSHIP WITH SDG 7

India is a particularly important country for SDG 7 because of its large population, rapid economic growth and sharply increasing energy demand. The country has made remarkable progress in expanding access to electricity and clean cooking, while simultaneously investing heavily in renewable energy. In 2024, 83% of investment in the Indian power sector went to clean energy, and non-fossil sources represented around 44% of installed power-generation capacity (International Energy Agency [IEA], 2025a). 

However, India remains strongly dependent on coal to satisfy its growing electricity needs. In 2024, coal generated nearly three-quarters of the country’s electricity, compared with more than 20% from renewable sources (IEA, 2025b). This makes India a key example of the challenge of combining economic development, universal energy access and a transition towards cleaner energy.

CURRENT CHALLENGES AND RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

One of India’s principal challenges is meeting rapidly rising electricity demand without increasing its dependence on fossil fuels. Demand is being driven by industrialisation, urbanisation and growing use of appliances and air conditioning. Coal therefore continues to play an important role in India’s energy security, even as renewable capacity expands rapidly (IEA, 2025a). 

At the same time, India is becoming a major renewable-energy market, particularly for solar and wind power. This expansion requires greater investment in electricity grids, transmission and storage to integrate variable renewable generation reliably. India’s ability to combine renewable-energy expansion with affordable and reliable electricity will therefore be central to its progress towards SDG 7 (IEA, 2025a; International Renewable Energy Agency, 2026). 

LIST OF REFERENCES 

International Energy Agency. (2025a). World Energy Investment 2025: India. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-investment-2025/india

International Energy Agency. (2025b). Global Energy Review 2025: Electricity. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://www.iea.org/reports/global-energy-review-2025/electricity

International Renewable Energy Agency. (2026). Renewable Capacity Statistics 2026. https://www.irena.org/Publications/2026/Mar/Renewable-capacity-statistics-2026