India Highlights Energy Security and Supply Chains at G20 Meeting

India has recently participated in the G20 Energy Abundance Ministerial Meeting in Houston, USA, with Union Minister for Power and Housing & Urban Affairs, Manohar Lal leading the Indian delegation. The meeting focused on energy security and affordable baseload, permitting and regulatory efficiency, and critical minerals and resilient supply chains.

During his interventions, the Union Minister emphasised that secure, affordable and reliable energy is essential for development, particularly for developing economies. He stressed the importance of international cooperation and leveraging the complementarities among countries to advance the common good of all, while respecting diverse national circumstances and development priorities.

He highlighted that India is building a resilient and future-ready energy system that is increasingly digital, decentralised and consumer-centric. He also underlined India’s significant progress in the power sector, with installed electricity generation capacity reaching 552 GW, of which more than half is from non-fossil fuel sources. He further highlighted India’s early achievement of key NDC targets and its long-term goal of achieving Net Zero by 2070.

The Minister highlighted the range of reforms undertaken by India to strengthen regulatory efficiency, encourage competition and facilitate greater participation and investment across the energy sector. He showcased initiatives such as the National Single Window System, PARIVESH and PM Gati Shakti, which have helped improve predictability and streamline approvals for infrastructure development.

On critical minerals, the Minister emphasised the importance of secure, resilient and diversified supply chains, stressing circularity and downstream value creation in developing countries. He also highlighted India’s National Critical Mineral Mission, covering the value chain from exploration to recycling and called for G20 cooperation on recycling, recovery and diversification.

The ministerial meeting resulted in several key outcomes across the three thematic pillars. On clean cooking access, the G20 Statement on Advancing Clean Cooking Access called for universal access to clean cooking through technology-neutral and nationally appropriate approaches, recognising that different countries have diverse needs. It identified LPG as an important clean-cooking pathway, particularly for developing countries, and called for equitable financing across clean-cooking solutions, including LPG-based projects.

On permitting and regulatory efficiency, the G20 Permitting and Regulatory Efficiency Symposium highlighted the importance of streamlined processes to facilitate energy infrastructure development. It also encouraged voluntary information sharing, capacity building and the use of digital and AI-enabled tools.

The G20 Water Reuse Initiative was advanced as a voluntary framework promoting science- and evidence-based, cost-effective and fit-for-purpose water reuse aligned with national policies. It encouraged cooperation and the exchange of best practices to strengthen water security and resilience while recognising that approaches may differ across countries.

On critical minerals, the G20 Critical Minerals Meeting Communiqué highlighted their importance for energy security, digital infrastructure, emerging technologies and economic development. It promoted voluntary international cooperation, innovation, circularity and investment to diversify supply chains, increase value addition and strengthen resilience while respecting national sovereignty and domestic priorities.

On the sidelines of the Ministerial Meeting, the Minister also held bilateral meetings with Chris Wright, Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy; Doug Burgum, Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior; and Corey Hogan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Canada. The discussions covered a range of areas of mutual interest, including resilient energy infrastructure and supply chains, power sector transformation, and India’s plans for meeting the growing energy requirements of its digital economy.

The Minister’s participation in the G20 Energy Abundance Ministerial Meeting underscores India’s constructive contribution to the global energy discourse and its continued commitment to building a secure, sustainable, affordable and inclusive energy future for all.