New Delhi: Niti Aayog on Monday initiated the release of a set of 11 analytical reports detailing pathways through which India can simultaneously realize its ambition of becoming a $30 trillion ‘Viksit Bharat’ economy by 2047 and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2070.
The first three reports in the series were unveiled at the Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi. This marks the country’s first government-led, integrated, multi-sectoral exercise using scenario-based modelling to examine development and decarbonization together.
According to the Niti study, India will require total investments amounting to $22.7 trillion to transition to net zero by 2070.
When broken down annually, the overall investment need works out to average inflows of about $500 billion each year. This is significantly higher than the roughly $135 billion invested annually in 2024, with just $70–80 billion of that directed towards clean energy, according to the Niti Aayog study.
The report further notes that close to $8 trillion of the total investment will need to be committed by 2050. Nearly $5 trillion of this early spending is expected to go into the power sector, reflecting the high upfront capital requirements associated with low-carbon technologies.
The synthesis report adopts what it terms a “development-first” framework for achieving net zero, asserting that sustained economic growth can be gradually separated from emissions growth. Under this approach, India’s GDP could expand nearly 11 times by 2070, while total final energy demand would increase only about 2.1 to 2.6 times compared to 2025 levels. This outcome would depend on significant improvements in energy efficiency, rapid electrification, increased material circularity, and behavioural shifts.
The report places particular emphasis on demand-side solutions. “Most demand-side interventions have low or even negative marginal costs of abatement. Their adoption eases infrastructure pressures and accelerates emissions cuts,” it noted.
Low-carbon Growth
Electrification is positioned as the core driver of India’s low-carbon development strategy. The share of electricity in final energy consumption is projected to rise sharply from roughly 21% in 2025 to close to 60% by 2070. This shift would be supported by the expansion of electric mobility, electric cooking, and electric industrial heat, alongside sweeping reforms in the power sector. These reforms include grid upgrades, large-scale energy storage, and more flexible operation of coal-based power plants during the transition period.
Speaking at the launch, Niti Aayog Vice Chairperson Suman Bery highlighted the global implications of India’s transition. “As one the world’s largest economies by 2070 India must be concerned for the welfare of its own citizens, and for the world that they will inhabit in the coming decades. Accordingly, the goal of net zero by 2070 provides guidance to Indian actors about a world beyond Viksit Bharat 2047,” he said, adding that India’s policy choices would carry particular weight for countries across the global south.
Niti Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam stressed that the transition would be grounded in realism and economic growth. “The net zero strategy is simple - first, electrify energy use. Two, green and clean electricity. Three, control demand through Mission LiFE. Four, focus on circularity and efficiency. Last, cheaper external finance is needed,” he said. He further noted that “India’s coal consumption will go up till 2047 even as energy intensity decreases and efficiency goes up, while meeting net zero goals.”
He also pointed to the scale of India’s development challenge, observing that “85% of India of 2047 is yet to be built and can be built to be climate friendly.”
Financial Constraint
The reports identify financing as the single largest hurdle in the net-zero transition. Under the net-zero pathway, total investment requirements are estimated at $22.7 trillion by 2070, leaving a funding shortfall of approximately $6.5 trillion. This gap, the report argues, will need to be bridged largely through international sources.
“International capital, particularly concessional finance and grants, will therefore be critical to supporting technologies essential for net zero that are not yet commercially viable,” the report said.
Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran described the scale of the task as “immense and unprecedented,” while emphasizing that the bulk of resources would still need to be generated domestically through stronger savings, higher investment levels, and job creation.
Discussions at the launch also drew attention to governance and social considerations. The study proposes district-level planning for the transition, improved inter-ministerial coordination, and the establishment of a National Green Finance Institution. Describing the effort as a reference point for future policymaking, Nageswaran remarked, “Niti Aayog has undertaken a comprehensive and rigorous exercise that will serve as a starting point for future discussions on Viksit Bharat and net zero.”