Prime Minister Narendra Modi has credited India’s decade-long investment in clean energy with helping the country withstand recent global energy disruptions, including the continuing crisis in West Asia. Speaking at the Bharat Renewable Energy Summit and Expo 2026 in New Delhi on November 2, he said the country could have faced a substantially more severe situation without the development of renewable energy capacity and supporting systems. He linked energy security directly to economic stability, arguing that dependence on fossil fuels leaves economies exposed to supply disruptions because reserves are concentrated in a limited number of regions.
The address also set out a larger capacity ambition. Modi said India had achieved more than 50% of its installed electricity capacity from non-fossil sources in 2025, five years ahead of its 2030 commitment, and had reached nearly 300 GW towards its 500 GW non-fossil capacity target. He announced a further addition of 500 GW over the next 10 to 11 years. Separately, Ministry of Power data recorded 283.47 GW of non-fossil installed capacity as of March 31, 2026, representing 53.2% of the country’s total installed generation capacity of 532.74 GW. Installed capacity, however, should not be confused with the actual share of electricity generated from non-fossil sources.
A key part of the Prime Minister’s argument was the expansion of domestic solar manufacturing. He said India’s solar module manufacturing capacity had increased from around 2 GW a decade ago to more than 200 GW, while solar cell manufacturing capacity had reached nearly 40 GW. The figures were presented as evidence of a shift from dependence on imported solar components towards domestic production. The government’s next challenge, as outlined in the address, is to extend this manufacturing base across other components and technologies needed for the clean energy transition.
The speech placed household solar adoption among the most visible parts of this transition. Referring to the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, launched in February 2024 with a target of installing rooftop solar systems in one crore households, Modi said more than 65 lakh households had joined the programme in approximately two years. He cited an installation pace of around one lakh new homes every six days and referred to a study indicating an average electricity bill reduction of about 76%. He also said that some households had reduced their bills to zero and were earning from surplus electricity supplied to the grid. These savings and adoption figures were presented by the Prime Minister during the address.
He also highlighted the role of public infrastructure and agricultural solarisation. More than 44,000 government buildings have been connected with solar power, which the Prime Minister said was generating annual savings of nearly ₹700 crore. Under the PM-KUSUM scheme, he cited solar irrigation support for more than 30 lakh farmers and estimated annual savings of nearly ₹1 lakh for each beneficiary of a solar pump. He further pointed to the PM Surya Sarovar initiative, which promotes solar installations over reservoirs, ponds and lakes to use existing water surfaces and reduce the need for land acquisition.
Beyond existing schemes, Modi called for expanding solar installations across government buildings, schools, colleges, hospitals and streetlight networks. For agriculture, he urged a move beyond solar pumps towards panels on unused farmland and along field boundaries. He also called for the development of solar-powered equipment for dairy operations, animal fodder preparation, crop harvesting and post-harvest activities. These proposals broaden the potential role of solar power from electricity generation to energy use across rural production and public services.
The Prime Minister identified storage and transmission as essential to converting renewable capacity into dependable electricity supply. He called for indigenous battery hardware and additional storage capacity, while highlighting the need to move electricity from high-generation solar and wind regions to areas with lower output. He cited an investment target of around ₹2 lakh crore for the next phase of transmission infrastructure, building on Green Energy Corridors and the interconnected national grid. The address also referred to the National Green Hydrogen Mission’s objective of producing 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen by the end of the decade and its proposed use in transport.
Modi cited more than ₹15 lakh crore in renewable energy investment over the past decade, including over ₹6 lakh crore in the two years since the 2024 RE-INVEST Summit. He said investment opportunities in the sector could exceed ₹20 lakh crore by the end of the decade. The figures were presented as an invitation to domestic and international investors to participate in renewable generation, manufacturing, storage and associated infrastructure. He also referred to a proposed $200 million Africa Solar Facility as part of India’s international clean energy cooperation.
The address at the summit placed the next phase of India’s energy transition around three linked requirements: expanding non-fossil generation, strengthening domestic manufacturing and building the storage and transmission infrastructure needed to integrate variable renewable power. While the Prime Minister attributed the country’s ability to manage global energy shocks to its clean energy investments, the longer-term impact will depend on how effectively new capacity is converted into reliable supply and reduced exposure to imported fuels.