What about India’s development and economic growth?

Most definitely India must develop and grow economically and for that India requires a lot of energy to uplift the standard of living, of the 46% population in extreme poverty - who do not even have access to electricity, and deliver the much needed improvements in health, education and lifestyles that 100s of millions of people in India lack.

However, like the developed world, Majority of this increase is planned to come from coal - this economic growth is fueled by energy which presently is largely supplied by fossil fuels. India’s current pathway of development would lead it to becoming a major contributor to the already dangerous levels of carbon dioxide emissions.

Making coal the backbone of our Energy mix will not address the country’s energy concerns in a sustainable manner.