ELECTRONIC JOURNAL OF SOCIAL AND STRATEGIC STUDIES - Volume 6 Issue 3, Dec 2025-Jan 2026

Pages: 422-440

Date of Publication: 31-Jan-2026

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Solar Energy illuminating the path to India’s Sustainable Future

Author: Dr O Nirmala

Category: Security Studies

Abstract:

Abstract Solar energy represents a major progressive step toward achieving sustainable development and energy security in India. With a rapidly growing India’s population and economy are expanding rapidly, making it extreme difficult to satisfy its energy needs while preserving environment sustainability. As a reliable, sustainable and eco-friendly way to meet India’s energy needs, solar energy offers a huge opportunity. This paper examines the significant role of solar energy acting as a key player in attaining India’s sustainable development pathway. India is blooming as industrial park in the world with high consumption of energy therefore switching to renewable energy technologies becomes an important concern. India has emerged as a global leader in renewable energy domains through a solar capacity installation of 98 GW by 2024. The primary objective of the study is to assess India’s current status, its potential and the challenges and also to comprehend how solar power may contribute to India’s energy need and security. This paper analyses India’s Solar energy landscape by reviewing national policies and other frameworks. Methodology adopted in this study is qualitative and analytical approach based on review of secondary sources including government reports, policy documents, international energy agency data. Comparative analysis is used to understand the best practices and identify gaps between policy and its implementation. The findings underscore that while India has made significant progress in scaling up solar capacity, challenges related to land availability, financing, domestic manufacturing, policy coherence continues to constrain its full potential. The paper argues that addressing these issues through supportive policy reforms, innovations in technology and effective collaborations are essential for achieving long term sustainable goals. This paper is intended for an audience comprising academicians, policymakers, researchers practioners and professionals involved in renewable energy sectors, offering insights to the researchers and policy formulators to make strategic decisions.

Keywords: Energy Security, Environment Security, Climate Change, National Security, Solar Energy, SDG, Climate change mitigation, India

DOI: 10.47362/EJSSS.2026.6303

DOI URL: https://doi.org/10.47362/EJSSS.2026.6303

Full Text:

Introduction

Fossil fuels remain as the dominant source of global energy, driving climate change through substantial carbon dioxide emission that continues to rise and intensifying climate change. According to the International Energy Agency’s Global Energy review 2025, energy related CO2 emissions reached a record of 37.8 billion tonnes in 2024, indicating the urgent need to shift towards cleaner alternatives (IEA, 2025). In India, the growing energy demand has historically met by fossil fuels; yet by mid-2025, India achieved a significant milestone by deriving over 50% of its total installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources- including solar, wind, hydro and nuclear which is five years ahead of its Paris Agreement target (Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, 2025). Solar energy, in particular has emerged as a leading force in this transformation, helping to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels while enhancing energy security and aligning with India’s climate commitments.

As of 2025, India is navigating a challenging situation consisting of scarce resources, security threats, and the escalating effects of climate change. Global warming, rising temperatures, and extreme weather patterns have emerged as non-traditional threats, redefined grey areas of conflict and placed energy scarcity and sustainable growth at the forefront of the nation’s energy journey. India’s fossil fuel import (Trade.gov, n.d.) creates serious environmental concerns due to rise in population and rising energy consumption. In an effort to meet rising energy demands, renewable energy technologies—especially solar power—have become strategic alternatives to fossil fuels due to their low carbon content (United Nations, n.d.). More importantly, the state's ability for resilience, progress, and future security is now determined by the sustainability of the flow of sustainable energy.

The nation's energy environment is being challenged by rising energy consumption brought on by population growth, urbanisation, and economic expansion. This article underscores the strategic significance of solar energy to India’s national security by positioning it within the broader framework of energy security. By examining its social, political, and economic dimensions, the study demonstrates how solar energy can enable India to achieve an environmentally responsible and strategically self-reliant energy future amid an increasingly volatile geopolitical landscape and the accelerating impacts of climate change. Global warming—largely driven by anthropogenic activity—poses an existential threat to environmental stability, elevating climate change from an environmental concern to a core security challenge. In this context, the linkage between energy security and national security has gained critical recognition, particularly in developing states such as India, where energy dependence and climate vulnerability intersect with strategic risk.

The need to shift to a more sustainable energy system arises from geopolitical tensions and the intensifying effects of climate change. While it is true that India is still in the early stages of the development of renewable energy sources, both the public and business sectors view solar energy as one of the lasting answers to India's energy security. As the world grapples with the alarming impacts of climate change, the need for sustainable energy solutions has never been more pressing. India, as one of the fastest-growing economies, faces unique challenges and opportunities in transitioning to renewable energy sources.

The current study aims to investigate how solar energy can contribute to India’s energy security and sustainable development, focusing on policy, and socio-economic dimensions. The research problem focuses on assessing the capacity of solar energy to reduce the use of fossil fuels within India’s energy mix. To address this, a qualitative methodology is employed from drawing primary sources from government energy statistics, and secondary sources from academic literature, reports from energy agencies to provide a comprehensive understanding of India’s solar energy path.

India's Present Energy Situation:

India’s energy demand and consumption has grown rapidly over the past decades, driven by rapid industrialization, rising standard of living, expanding the communication lanes, digital infrastructure etc., India is largely depended on its external source to meet its energy demand (Government of India, 2023) in the current situation and it is well aware that dependence will always leads to countries instability in terms of political, social, economic, military and, environment. During 2023-24, India’s Total primary Energy Supply (TPES) reached 903,158Kilo Tonnes of Oil (KToE), growing nearly 7.8 % increase, reflecting strong energy demand. Coal dominated the mix with a 60.21 % of its share, followed by crude oil at 29.83 % and natural gas at 6.99 % of TPES. Coal remains India’s most significant fossil fuel and a dominant role in power generation. Therefore, the government has been steadily recalibrating its policy priorities toward clean energy, elevating it to the forefront of the national agenda. India’s decisive shift toward renewable energy—particularly solar power—marks a timely and welcome intervention, aimed not only at sustaining economic growth but also at mitigating the escalating impacts of climate change. As of June 2025, India’s total installed electricity generation capacity reached approx. 476GW, with non-fossil fuel sources accounting for about 49 % (Economic Times Energy World, 2025) of its capacity. Of this excluding nuclear, renewable contributed about 226.9GW and nuclear about 8.8GW. Solar energy alone accounted for over 110GW of installed capacity- making it as the largest contributor among renewable energy source in the country’s power mix. India added 18.4 GW of solar capacity, driving the highest ever renewable installation with in a six months period (Economic Times Energy World, 2025).

The predominant dependence on coal and petroleum products amplifies the risk of import dependency to India. India imports nearly 80 % of its crude oil needs contributes to severe air pollution and climate vulnerability making the diversification of energy mix becomes a crucial priority. Apart from this, India continues to overcome its persistent challenges such as poverty, unemployment, and social inequality, further compounded by rising pollution, energy insecurity, and an ever-growing demand for power. In response to these interconnected pressures, the country has increasingly turned toward solar energy as a strategic pathway to address developmental needs while securing a cleaner and more resilient energy future.

Solar energy Initiatives in India

The implementation of solar energy throughout India is proof of sustained development objectives and energy independence goals. The nation has focused on transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy because its population is expanding quickly, and power requirements continue to grow. The vast popularity and environmentally sustainable nature of solar energy now function as an essential foundation for India's renewable energy blueprint. Solar power development in India has achieved rapid momentum during the past decade owing to powerful government policies, technological advancements, and substantial investment volumes. The solar energy capacity milestone in India surged from 2.5 GW in 2014 to 98 GW by 2024 (Invest India, 2020). The country's rapid acceleration in renewable energy development demonstrates its committed leadership position in sustainable global energy systems. Solar energy development in India began with the launch of the National Solar Mission under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) of 2010. The mission established solar power generation goals, which targeted India to become a leading center for solar technology innovation and manufacturing. The government dedicated its initial plans to reach 20 GW of solar capacity in 2022 before updating the goals to achieve 100 GW through increased interest in renewable energy (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy [MNRE], 2023). India’s solar power market success demonstrates remarkable progress, which has made it a leading global solar market despite missing ambitious 2022 generation targets. The initiative advances rural power supply while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as it helps India fulfill its climate change initiatives under the Paris Agreement.

Solar power remains central to India's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) implementation since it targets both a 2030 goal of lowering GDP emission intensity to 45% below the 2005 levels and the development of 50% of India's electric power capacity from renewable sources (MNRE, 2023). Solar energy has seen a phenomenal growth it is estimated that the cumulative installed solar capacity reached 135.81 GW by late 2025 (Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, 2025). Solar energy plays a fundamental role in achieving India's combined environmental and economic targets. India's solar energy sector maintains rapid advancement, yet encounters multiple obstacles that need resolution to resist stagnation. The solar energy sector faces development setbacks because of its large initial expenses and problems obtaining land, together with power network connectivity and foreign equipment dependency (Rustagi, 2025). Storage solutions using large solar farms generate the most capacity additions, but India requires increased promotion of decentralized solar energy and rooftop systems to improve clean energy access between cities and the countryside. Policy frameworks along with technological innovations enable sector growth, and these frameworks, along with requiring further attention, are analyzed in detail. The analysis of India's solar energy system in this paper helps to understand the ongoing dialogue on renewable energy development and sustainability. The installation growth and distribution data from Ministry of New and Renewable energy indicates that the solar capacity enhanced in both utility-scale and rooftop segments, supported by the schemes like PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijili Yojana and also the grid connected rooftop programmes. States like Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra emerged as leading solar capacity contributors (Times of India, 2025)

Figure 1: Solar Energy in India

Source: By Author

The above figure tries to give a comprehensive idea about the opportunities and challenges for India by utilizing its solar energy.

The Strategic shift towards solar energy not only addresses the environmental concerns but also responds to India’s growing energy demand and security issues. Solar energy is considered as a potential resource which requires major investments in infrastructure expansion, grid integration and storage technologies which are essential to enable solar energy to reliably meet a nation’s energy need.

Solar Energy- The Cornerstone of India's Renewable Strategy

India has chosen solar power as its primary renewable energy framework, representing 47% of all renewable capacity installations in the nation. Solar power development has advanced through the triple pathway of large-scale grid-connected systems, rooftop units, and standalone off-grid systems. In 2024, utility-scale solar projects provided 18.5 A GW of new capacity, and rooftop solar systems expanded by 53% with 4.59 GW added (MNRE, 2025). The PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana promoted decentralized power generation through rooftop solar systems by creating seven lakh new installations within a short period of ten months demonstrating the government's dedication to household empowerment.

Along with that the wind energy sector continues to progress in 2024, although its expansion rates remain behind those of solar energy development. Operators have illuminated the Indian market by installing 3.4 a wind capacity of in 2024, thus supplying a 21% uptick from earlier times (MNRE, 2025). The regional states of Gujarat Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have led wind energy deployment by installing 98% of the newly installed wind capacity in 2024. Wind energy development exists because of innovations in turbine technology and advanced wind resource measurement tools combined with hybrid wind-solar power systems that maximize the available space and strengthen the connection to electrical grids. India’s electricity generation mix continues to rely on thermal power for reliable source, although solar and wind have steadily increased their shares.

The renewable energy industry faces multiple obstacles that require appropriate solutions. The rapid upscaling of India's renewable-energy operations has encountered multiple obstacles. The sector faces growth obstacles because of problems in managing land acquisitions for large infrastructure projects and the need to integrate variable renewable sources with electrical grids and develop reliable storage systems. The government actively works to solve power generation obstacles through multiple infrastructure developments and policy activism. The Green Energy Corridor projects aim to enhance power evacuation transmission capabilities between renewable resource states and distribution points, while the National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage develops a complete framework for advancing energy storage systems.

Emerging Technologies and Innovative Solutions

India's progress toward renewable energy requires growing emphasis on emerging technologies that accelerate the adoption of a low-carbon economy. Green hydrogen has demonstrated potential as an emerging solution for de-carbonizing hard-to-treat industrial sectors and transportation operations exceeding 300 km. The National Hydrogen Mission launched in 2021 established India as a global leader in green hydrogen production and exports through its vast renewable energy resources. Through the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (hybrid and) electric vehicle (FAME) programs, the Indian government supports electric mobility and establishes key connections between renewable energy infrastructure and transportation systems to achieve cleaner sustainable futures.

India's Global Leadership in Renewable Energy

Renewable energy initiatives in India have gained international recognition as global benchmarks for success. Through its leadership of the International Solar Alliance and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, India has demonstrated its dedication to worldwide climate attempts and clean energy cooperation between southern nations. The success of India's renewable energy achievements has encouraged increased global investment as foreign direct investment in this industry. Foreign investment has strengthened renewable energy capabilities while creating employment opportunities throughout India along with the development of regional economies. The Government Schemes that gained recognitions are discussed here.

Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) Scheme:

In India's solar energy policy framework, the Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) scheme is a vital component. The CPSU Scheme Phase-II launched in 2019 targets government producers to construct 12 GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity. The MNRE distributes 85.8 billion rupees in Viability Gap Funding as part of the CPSU Scheme to producers under central and state government authorities, who receive more than 51% government funding (MNRE, 2023). This scheme demonstrates its significance through the targeted utilization of public sector organizations to accelerate solar power adoption. Through program incentives the government hopes CPSUs will execute major solar projects to expand national solar capacity as they concurrently establish a strong public sector knowledge network for renewable energy creation

India plans to establish a resilient renewable energy sector through stepped-up domestic solar value chain development to reach its clean energy targets and publish economic expansion, together with technological progress one such example is PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana - Revolutionizing Rooftop Solar Adoption in India.

The PM Surya Ghar: The initiative launched in February 2024 known as PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana redefines rooftop solar adoption in India through leading innovations. This all-encompassing initiative provides free electricity to homes through solar panel rooftop installation, which stimulates the rapid growth of residential solar energy, while helping India achieve its renewable energy objectives. Through substantial financial aid set against aggressive installation targets and extensive implementation, the program drives fast solar deployment while establishing lasting impacts on all parts of India's solar infrastructure.

In this PM Surya Ghar scheme there is a rapid increase in rooftop solar installation numbers in India represents the immediate transformative effect. During the first nine months of its launch, the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana powered the deployment of 6.3 lakh rooftop solar installations, averaging 70,000 monthly tasks (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy [MNRE], 2025). Rooftop solar installations under this scheme reached 70,000 each month following their launch, marking a significant increase above the pre-existing average of 7,000 per month, demonstrating how properly crafted policy measures drive sustainable energy acceptance. Rooftop solar installations climbed steadily from October onwards until they hit 6.34 lakh by December 2024 according to Rustagi’s (2025) analysis, which solidified the program as an effective rooftop solar deployment driver for the country.

The government has established intense targets that demonstrate its dedication to transforming India's energy system with rooftop solar system expansion. One-crore households must have access to solar power under PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana by March 2027, according to the scheme's most critical goal (MNRE, 2025). Research by Invest India (2020) shows that the scheme will achieve 10 lakh installations by March 2025 before reaching twice as large as 20 lakh by October 2025, and the next phase for 40 lakh by March 2026. These progressive targets combine to offer strategic implementation guidance for the scheme and energize all stakeholders involved in solar power generation to jointly progress India toward its clean energy vision.

Table 1: Key solar energy policies in India
Policy Name	Year Launched	Key Features	Target/Impact	Reference
Solar Park Scheme	2014	Large-scale solar parks with ready infrastructure	40,000 MW by 2025-26	MNRE (2023)
Viability Gap Funding (VGF) Schemes	Ongoing	Financial support up to 40% of project cost	Catalyze investments in challenging regions	MNRE (2025)
Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) Scheme	2019	12 GW solar capacity through government producers	Leverage public sector capabilities	MNRE (2023)
Defence Scheme	Ongoing	Solar adoption in military installations	Enhance energy security for defense sector	MNRE (2023)
Canal Bank & Canal Top Scheme	Ongoing	Solar projects on irrigation canals	Innovative land use, water conservation	MNRE (2023)
Bundling Scheme	Ongoing	Bundling solar with thermal power	Make solar more economically viable	MNRE (2025)
PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana	2024	Rooftop solar for residential sector	1 crore households by March 2027	MNRE (2025)
Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme	2021	Incentives for domestic solar manufacturing	Boost local production, reduce imports	Invest India (2020)
Green Energy Corridor Project	2015	Strengthen transmission for renewable energy	Facilitate large-scale grid integration	MNRE (2023)

Source: Compiled by author.

The solar energy sector in India has experienced significant expansion in recent years because multiple states have strengthened their pursuit of sustainable clean energy. Various ambitious policies, together with innovative schemes and strategic solar infrastructure funding, have enabled intense national and state collaborations, leading to remarkable progress in solar energy.

Dynamics of Energy Supply and Demand: India now ranks third in the world for energy consumption, having quadrupled its usage since 2000 (International Energy Agency (IEA), 2021). The level of energy consumption is expected to rise following this worldwide recession of economic activities

Reliability and Consumption of Power: The relationship between energy imports and national threats has consequences for national security. Since more than 80% of India's needs are met by imports, the nation is vulnerable to fluctuations in the price of crude oil due to its large reliance on imports. Given that geopolitical tensions have the potential to disrupt energy sources, such a dependence raises several concerns about energy security.

Environmental Considerations: Climate change has a dual impact on energy security: while changing climatic patterns negatively impact energy generation and transmission, India is committed to switching towards renewable energy due to its increasing carbon footprint (Ministry of Science & Technology, 2023). Making the switch to solar power can cut greenhouse gas emissions dramatically. According to estimates, if India meets its solar ambitions, more than a billion tonnes of CO2 emissions might be avoided by 2030 (The Hindu, 2023).The devastation of the environment brought about by the combustion of fossil fuels has increased the pressure on India to switch to greener energy sources. Public health emergencies result from large cities' air quality frequently falling below acceptable limits. Air quality will be improved, greenhouse gas emissions will be drastically reduced, and climate change will be fought by solar energy. According to studies, a deliberate switch to solar energy might lead to a sharp drop in carbon dioxide emissions, aiding in the Paris Agreement's goal of keeping global warming to 1.5°C over pre-industrial levels.

Approximately 70% of India's overall emissions are caused by the energy sector (Government of India, 2024). India can drastically reduce its carbon footprint by increasing the proportion of renewable energy. For example, according to a report by the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW), India could prevent an estimated 3.4 gigatons of CO2 emissions by 2030 if it meets its renewable energy targets (Council of Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), 2023).

Solar Power is Nature's Revolutionary Potential

The accessibility of resources: India is one of the best places in the world to produce solar energy, with an average daily sun radiation of 5-7 kWh/m². It receives about 5,000 trillion kWh of energy annually, which is more than 80,000 times its entire energy requirements (Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Management Centre, n.d). With a goal of achieving 100 GW of solar power by 2022, the National Solar Mission was initiated in 2010 with the intention of making India a global leader in solar energy. India has exceeded 60 GW of installed solar capacity as of 2023, putting great progress towards this challenging goal (Mundhra, 2023). India boasts abundant solar energy resources, with an estimated 300 days of sunshine annually. It has the potential to generate more than 750 GW of solar energy, which is still mainly untapped and might contribute to the expansion of the availability of energy sources.

Advancements in technology: Solar energy is feasible due to advancements in solar photovoltaic (PV) technology, particularly the increased global efficiency rates and decreased costs of solar power. Enhancements in battery storage and smart grid technology have the potential to augment the dependability and efficiency of solar-powered systems.

National Security and Renewable Energies from the Sun

Energy Self-Sufficiency: A large-scale solar sector can significantly aid India's energy independence, particularly with regard to its reliance on oil imports. Encouraging local solar energy generation boosts the country's power and security because it remains unaffected by fluctuations in the global market.

The creation of jobs and economic growth are two greater advantages of the solar industry: The solar business contributes to economic growth by increasing the amount of power produced using renewable energy, which in turn increases job opportunities for individuals. The solar industry has the potential to create millions of employments and maintain social stability by reducing the wealth gap, both of which are vital for national security.

Implementing the Climate Change Transition and moving to solar energy can lessen the effects of climate change and increase a country's resilience. By mitigating the effects of climate-related disasters, a proactive approach to sustainable energy can improve governance continuity and stability as well as service delivery.

Electricity in Rural Areas

With around 300 million people living in countries without access to electricity, solar energy offers a lot of promise for distributed energy solutions (International Finance Corporation [IFC], 2018). Off-grid solar power systems can raise living standards and open doors for small business owners and farmers by giving rural communities access to energy. In addition to offering access to clean energy, enhancing livelihood prospects, and lowering dependency on kerosene and other dirty energy sources, solar energy can be extremely important in energizing isolated and rural areas.

Geopolitical Framework India's geopolitical situation can be improved by rising to the forefront of the solar energy industry. Establishing strategic alliances for commerce and technology transfer with nations that distribute solar technology will strengthen India's standing in international forums.

Obstacles and recommendations

The price of raw materials

Materials like polysilicon, silver, and other rare metals are necessary for the construction of solar panels, but their costs might change depending on market conditions (MIT Technology Review, 2023). Such fluctuations might affect long-term planning for renewable projects as well as the ultimate cost of solar installations.

Investment and Financing: Large sums of initial aid are needed for solar plants. It is imperative that the Indian government investigates novel financing methods such as international financing, green bonds, and public-private partnerships (PPPs).

Development of Infrastructure India has to invest in strong infrastructure, including as transmission networks and energy storage systems, in order to achieve its solar potential. Modernization of the grid is necessary in order to incorporate renewable energy sources.

Land Purchase

To satisfy the energy needs of large countries especially like India it requires a large-scale solar project which requires a vast land with no serious issues like terrorism, or socio-political problems. For example, if a land is identified in border areas neighboring state should not pose serious challenge or identify as target to destabilize the state. Not only should that it never disturb the agricultural production of state which is the backbone of any economy. To reduce such threats the ruling government, opposition parties, policymakers should give land surveys and community involvement top priority to install solar panels in order to have uninterrupted energy supply.

Policy and Regulatory Framework: India’s Solar Policy and Regulatory framework (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, n.d.) is playing a very vital and significant role in shaping India’s transition to sustainable energy. This does not provide incentives in the form of financial subsidies but also in tax benefits too to increase indigenous manufacturing capabilities. To further encourage investment in solar projects, the Indian government has established a number of financial instruments, including the National Clean Energy Fund and the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). The regulatory framework encourages residents and commercial users to generate their own solar power is a welcoming step.

Simplification of Clearances: The process of obtaining permits and clearances for solar projects in India ensures environmental standards along with several critical steps like permissions, approvals and clearance from the government before implementation. Reducing bureaucracy should streamline this process and shorten the time it takes to go from proposal to implementation.

The National Action Plan on Climate Change includes the National Solar Mission (NSM) project (International Energy Agency [IEA], n.d.), which focuses on solar energy, energy efficiency, sustainable agriculture etc., to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The effectiveness lies in the overall cooperation and collaboration among the public, private and civil societies and not just a top-down approach.

State-Level Solar Policies: The state level policies in India plays a crucial role in transforming India from the use of nonrenewable to renewable. The effectiveness of these policies is further enhanced with its geographical advantages. However, issues like grid infrastructure deficiencies and need for workforce development with the necessary skill sets still remains challenging.

The Solar Parks Scheme (Energy Proral, n.d.) was implemented by the government to establish large-scale solar power generation facilities that produce electricity to meet the people demand. The main purpose is to have energy independence and rural electrification. The overall vision is to create a cleaner and greener India for sustainable future.

International Partnerships: With natures gift India is one of the sunniest countries in the World which has helped India to emerge as a global leader in Solar Energy. India is constantly engaged in bilateral and multilateral agreements focusing on International Solar Alliance (ISA), which India co-founded, bring together nations with abundant solar resources to promote cooperation in the use of solar technology to address the pressing issues of climate change.

Public Knowledge and Involvement: Public acceptance and awareness is essential for sustainable energy future. Advocating Solar Energy and helping to bridge the knowledge gap in the rural areas is very much required to have public involvement in understanding energy’s economic and environment advantages. If public knowledge of solar energy increases there will be an increase in participation from the public side which strengthens the government solar initiatives.

Collaboration with Academia: Interdisciplinary research is being conducted at various universities, colleges and research centres to maintain India’s competitiveness in the global solar energy landscape. This extends to joint research projects, internship which equip with practical skills. Students with hands-on experience in real world applications will definitely prepare next generation engineers, scientists and policymakers to address these challenges. The academic innovations turn into marketable solutions to adopt solar technologies worldwide.

Awareness Campaigns: Public interest in solar energy can be increased by government-led campaigns that inform the public about the advantages of solar energy, subsidies, and installation procedures.

Workshops and Training: Technical training for engineers, technicians, and installers can boost the skills of the local labor force and encourage the creation of jobs in the solar industry.

Conclusion

India’s Energy needs are expanding rapidly, driven by increase in population, industrial development and rising standard of living. At the same time, India is facing several critical challenges like dependence on import fossil fuels, regional power shortage and urgent need to address greenhouse gas emission. Ensuring energy security by supporting economic growth requires a transition towards cleaner, reliable and domestically available energy sources. Solar energy is a plentiful, renewable resource that can help India fulfil its expanding energy needs and open the door to a sustainable future. Therefore, India’s energy landscape is undergoing a transformative shift. India stands to gain significant economic and social advantages in addition to lowering its carbon footprint by switching to sustainable energy sources.

Energy independence is a key component of modern national security rhetoric, and it is intimately related to ecological sustainability, geopolitical stability, and economic resilience. Among other renewable energy sources, solar energy stands out as a viable choice due to its widespread availability, quick technological breakthroughs, and declining costs. However, achieving Solar full potential needs capacity expansion, continued policy stability, integrated infrastructure development and innovation in energy storage systems, greater emphasis on domestic manufacturing and expanding incentives for rooftop and rural solar adoption.

Solar energy is not merely a supplement resource for India it is a game-changer to meet future energy demands sustainable. Government, industry players, and civil society must work together to establish a robust and sustainable solar energy ecosystem that aligns with India's energy security and climate goals. As India moves further on its path towards sustainable development, solar energy is emerging not only as a replacement for traditional energy sources but also as a cornerstone for a future that is cleaner and more resilient to climate change. By making investments in solar infrastructure and technology, India can lead the world's shift to renewable energy sources and demonstrate its commitment to both environmental responsibility and economic growth. These measures will not only support national energy goals, but also position India as a trend setter in the clean energy transition.

Disclosure Statement: The Author Dr.O.Nirmala is thankful to the Guru Nanak College Centre for Research for the financial support under Seed Money Grant (File No:GNC/GNCR/SMG_2023-24/021 dated 10.04.2024)

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