Kamal Ghorui
New Delhi: India ranks third globally in renewable energy installed capacity, having surpassed Brazil in global rankings, Union minister Pralhad Joshi said on Wednesday.The minister for new and renewable energy said India had added a record 55.3 GW of non-fossil power capacity in 2025-26, taking the total to 283.5 GW. “This is the highest increase in any year,” he said. Distributed renewable energy — rooftop solar installations and solar pumps for irrigation — has emerged as a significant component of growth, with 7.6 GW added under PM KUSUM scheme and 8.7 GW coming from rooftop solar plants.Addressing a press conference, Joshi said India had reached its highest-ever renewable energy share in electricity generation in July 2025, when green sources — solar, wind, hydro and nuclear — met 51.5% of total electricity demand of 203 GW. In the current scenario, with fossil fuel supplies disrupted due to the conflict in West Asia, steps taken by govt have helped reduce dependence on oil imports.“We have achieved almost 100% electrification of railways, EV sales have increased and daytime charging costs are very low. The use of solar energy with battery storage is increasing in households. We are in discussion with DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade) for production of utensils suited for induction stoves to increase its use,” Joshi said.He acknowledged a few instances of curtailment of output from wind and solar farms by grid operators, preventing them from generating at full capacity. “Our transmission system has largely been developed for thermal-based energy and is taking time to adjust. Work on delayed transmission lines is being expedited and is expected to be completed by June, after which the issue of curtailment will not arise,” he said.
