India emerges top global energy gainer: Report

Global energy transition readiness has declined for the first time in more than a decade amid a surge in geopolitical risks, but India has registered one of the strongest improvements, a new report showed on Thursday.

Sweden, Finland and Denmark retained their top three positions globally on the World Economic Forum’s Energy Transition Index 2026, while India advanced two places to rank 70th. “India was one of the strongest improvers globally in the Energy Transition Index 2026, recording one of the largest gains in transition readiness and strengthening its position as a key player in the next phase of the global energy transition,” the WEF said. It attributed India’s improvement to stronger energy transition readiness and broad-based system gains, driven by a sharp rise in infrastructure, alongside improvements in equity, sustainability and financial investment. The proportion of low-carbon jobs increased by 24 per cent in India in 2024, as renewable energy jobs reached 1.3 million (up 25 per cent over 2023), with hydropower being the largest employment source.

The report also underlined scaling renewable capacity, grid expansion and green hydrogen under its infrastructure-led clean-energy strategy as key focus areas for India.