India Last Week #48
A round-up of research & reportage on India across climate, energy, foreign policy, politics & more over the last week
Climate, Energy & Environment -
“As the global green hydrogen sector is still in its early stages, India has the opportunity to deploy green technologies at scale and secure a significant share of the global supply of green energy solutions… The Green Hydrogen Policy (GHP), announced by the Ministry of Power in February 2022, was India’s first policy on green hydrogen. It includes a waiver on inter-state transmission system (ISTS) charges and outlines norms for sourcing renewable electricity for green hydrogen production… Since the launch of the NGHM, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal have introduced dedicated green hydrogen policies. Punjab and Haryana’s policies are in the draft stage… The INR 19,744 crore (approximately USD 2.5 billion) outlay in the NGHM is augmented by the total potential financial support in state-level green hydrogen policies, estimated to be around INR 5.05 lakh crore (around USD 61 billion). Of this, 62 per cent is through power-related components, and the rest through non-power-related ones.” Read more: Ribhav Pal, Vishal Tripathi, Karan Kothadiya, Prateek Aggarwal, and Deepak Yadav, Council on Energy, Environment, and Water
“The cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday approved fresh coal linkages in a revised SHAKTI policy to reduce import dependency and increase capacity addition by thermal power plants. The union cabinet also approved an academic and infrastructure capacity increase for five IITs (Indian Institute of Technology), upgradation of the National Scheme for Industrial Training Institute (ITI) and setting up of five National Centres of Excellence (NCOE) for Skilling as a centrally sponsored scheme. The new SHAKTI policy, which stands for Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala Transparently in India, will help thermal power generators procure coal for long-term use with some procedural easement compared with the previous iteration of the same policy… The new policy will allow thermal power generators to procure coal in two windows. The first window will be for coal linkages to central government generator companies and states at notified prices, while the second window will offer linkages to all generator companies at a premium above the notified price, a CCEA statement said, adding that state-run Coal India Ltd and Singareni Collieries Co. Ltd would receive directions to implement the policy.” Read more: Rituraj Baruah and Manas Pimpalkhare, Mint
“India ranks among the most water-stressed countries. According to the 2023 Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas released by the World Resources Institute (WRI), India stands 24th out of 25 nations facing “extremely high” water stress. According to the report, this means the country is using at least 80% of its available supply. Rapid urbanisation is worsening the crisis. Between 2013 and 2023, India’s urban population grew from 32% to 36.36%. In 2024, metro cities—home to over 11.73 crore people—accounted for more than 8% of the national population… Across India, rivers, too, are vanishing outside monsoon windows. An analysis by the Central Water Commission (CWC) last year found there was “no water left in the rivers between Mahanadi and Pennar basins that flow through Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha.”… This widening gap is not just about scarcity—it’s also about inequality. India’s per capita water availability, according to government data, is declining—from 1,816 cubic metres in 2001 to a projected 1,367 cubic metres by 2031. Urban benchmarks by the government set supply at 135 litres per person daily, but access varies wildly. While some city dwellers enjoy 24/7 piped supply, others—especially in slums—live with chronic shortages… Experts advocate a shift in thinking. Wastewater isn’t a liability, but a resource. A comprehensive water conservation and management policy is the need of the hour. Shifting the thinking from a supply-driven approach to an integrated urban water management system should be key, say experts.” Read more: Hridayesh Joshi, CarbonCopy
Economy -
“Samsung has asked an Indian tribunal to quash a $520 million tax demand for allegedly misclassifying imports of networking gear, arguing officials were aware of the practice as India's Reliance imported the same component in a similar manner for years, documents show. Samsung becomes the second major foreign company in recent months to challenge an Indian tax demand. Volkswagen has sued Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in court for a record demand of $1.4 billion for misclassifying its component imports. In the Samsung case, tax authorities in January asked Samsung to pay $520 million for evading the 10-20% tariffs by misclassifying imports of a key mobile tower equipment, which it then sold to billionaire Mukesh Ambani's telecom giant, Reliance Jio, from 2018 to 2021… Samsung's India unit says it discovered during an Indian tax investigation that Reliance had been warned about the practice way back in 2017, but Reliance did not inform the South Korean company about it and tax officials never questioned Samsung.” Read more: Aditya Kalra and Arpan Chaturvedi, Reuters
“To make it into India’s top 10% of income-earners, one must earn just ₹2.9 lakh a year. To enter the top 1%, ₹20.7 lakh will suffice… Accumulate ₹21 lakh in net assets, and one is now a 10-percenter. Accumulate ₹82 lakh and one is in the 1%. That might not even get one a modest flat in a metropolitan suburb, or a high-end SUV, but nationally, you are in rare company. The median adult has accumulated ₹4.3 lakh in assets… Per capita income in India may suggest steady growth, but the affluence is so unevenly distributed, that most of the country lives not in a state of growing prosperity but a state of precarity instead. The Indian dream exists – but it is more often powered by hustle, chance and accidents of birth than by a system geared for individual growth… India’s feudal structure, the generational wealth it engendered and the historical gaps it perpetuated between people of the lower castes and classes, paired with the ravages of colonialism and subsequent decades of sluggish growth, have kept vast swathes of Indian society leashed.” Read more: Kashyap Kompella, Hindustan Times
“In a rare moment of candour straight from the top of India’s auto industry, Maruti Suzuki Chairman R.C. Bhargava has laid bare a sobering truth, that most Indians simply cannot afford to buy even the most basic car anymore… “If you look at the household income distribution data, you will find that 200 million households out of 300 million households are having income below $6,000 per year,” Bhargava explained in his latest post-earnings call on April 25, referencing figures that translate to roughly Rs 5 lakh annually for two-thirds of Indian families… Only about 12% of Indian households have the purchasing power to even consider buying a car priced at Rs 10 lakh or more, a threshold that, thanks to rising input costs, higher taxes, and stringent safety and emission regulations, now defines the entry point for car ownership in India… Entry-level models, once the pride of India’s mass market, have seen sales tumble. Maruti Suzuki’s own small car segment, the traditional backbone of its business, recorded a 9% sales decline in 2024. Since 2020, regulatory changes have pushed up the cost of a small car by nearly Rs 90,000, putting even the humble Alto or WagonR out of reach for families with budgets of Rs 5-7 lakhs.” Read more: The Wire
Foreign Policy & Security -
“India and Pakistan moved into open military conflict after New Delhi launched air strikes against its neighbour over last month’s deadly militant attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. Pakistan claimed to have shot down five Indian military jets and a combat drone in response to the strike, which appeared to be India’s most extensive military attack on its neighbour in decades. India said it had carried out “precision strikes” on “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan and the part of the disputed region of Kashmir that Pakistan administers… The conflict between the two neighbours, which both claim Kashmir, came to a boil after gunmen killed 25 Indians and a Nepali citizen in Pahalgam, a tourist spot in Indian-administered Kashmir, on April 22. Modi responded by vowing to “find, track and punish every terrorist” responsible for the attack, which shocked and angered Indians.” Read more: John Reed, Krishn Kaushik, and Humza Jilani, Financial Times
“Days before the Pahalgam massacre, terror chatter picked up from across the border indicated terrorists’ plans to hit tourist places in J&K, particularly hotels on outskirts of Srinagar, more specifically areas like Dachigam, etc, senior officials following the investigations told TOI on Saturday. J&K Police sources, however, insisted that while intelligence was available on likely terror plans to target tourists and hotels, it was generic in nature, also naming non-local migrant labourers, Hindu pilgrims and Kashmiri pandits as potential targets and several areas like Kulgam, Pulwama, etc, as “vulnerable spots.” There was no mention of Baisaran, which had no history of terror activity or attacks, in these inputs… An officer said agencies have looked into the possibility of terrorists having initially planned to strike during PM Modi’s April 19 visit to J&K to flag off a train service between Katra and Srinagar… A second police officer said the terrorists chose to hit tourists to demolish the ‘normalcy’ narrative, with the record tourist arrivals in the Valley being cited as a barometer of normalcy.” Read more: Bharti Jain, Times of India
“India plans to tighten visa norms for Chinese nationals, particularly in commercial and technical work, to limit their stay and areas of work, two people aware of the matter said. The hardening of stance comes against the backdrop of rising concerns over an influx of Chinese goods into India, following steep tariff hikes by the US. New Delhi is wary of China redirecting US-bound exports to other markets including India, which could undermine domestic industry and the government’s self-reliance drive… "The visa process for Chinese nationals has never been free-flowing, especially after tensions escalated following the Galwan Valley incident in 2020. Under the proposed stricter norms, visas for technical personnel will be issued for a very limited period, and their movement will be restricted to designated areas only," said the first of the two persons mentioned above. Authorities or companies hosting Chinese nationals will be held responsible for any lapses or violations, the person added… However, experts have raised concerns about the government’s proposed move, saying that India should refrain from engaging in confrontation with China, given its heavy import dependency on Chinese goods and machinery used in different manufacturing sectors.” Read more: Dhirendra Kumar, Mint
“The UK and India have agreed a trade deal that will make it easier for UK firms to export whisky, cars and other products to India, and cut taxes on India's clothing and footwear exports. The British government said the "landmark" agreement, which took three years to reach, did not include any change in immigration policy, including towards Indian students studying in the UK. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the deal would boost the economy and "deliver for British people and business". Last year, trade between the UK and India totalled £42.6bn and was already forecast to grow, but the government said the deal would boost that trade by an additional £25.5bn a year by 2040… Once it comes into force, which could take up to a year, UK consumers are likely to benefit from the reduction in tariffs on goods coming into the country from India, the Department for Business and Trade said… Under the terms of the deal, some Indian and British workers will also gain from a three-year exemption from social security payments, which the Indian government called "an unprecedented achievement". The exemption applies to the staff of Indian companies temporarily transferred to the UK, and to UK firms' workers transferred to India. Social security contributions will be paid by employers and employees in their home country only, rather than in both places.” Read more: Lucy Hooker, BBC
People & Politics -
“For nearly two years, social media activist Anuradha Tiwari has been criticising state governments, including those run by the Bharatiya Janata Party, that pursue social justice policies for the backward castes. But even then, she never thought that the BJP would one day end up endorsing the idea of a caste census… The Modi government’s sudden announcement on April 30 stating that it would enumerate caste in the next Indian census surprised both its opponents and supporters. Supporters of a caste census contend that members of the Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Classes have long been undercounted and that affirmative action quotas are smaller than they should be. Scroll spoke to upper-caste activists and Hindutva leaders in four BJP-ruled states to gauge their response to the decision. All of them struggled to explain why the party was making a U-turn on an opposition demand that it has mocked for over a year. Most of them expressed their disappointment in the top BJP leadership for delivering what is, in their view, a major setback to the idea of “Hindu unity”. But at the end of the day, they also say that upper castes have few political options to the Hindutva party.” Read more: Anant Gupta, Scroll
“Two weeks ago, the photograph of a woman sitting motionless beside her husband's body went viral across Indian social media. It captured a moment of unspeakable grief - one that came to symbolise the 22 April militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in which 26 civilians were killed. The woman in the photo was Himanshi Narwal, whose husband, a 26-year-old naval officer, was among the victims. The couple, who had been married for less than a week, were on their honeymoon when Vinay Narwal was shot dead. But within days, Ms Narwal, who had been portrayed as the face of the tragedy, found herself at the centre of a hate campaign. It started last week when she urged people not to target Muslims or Kashmiris as emotions ran high across the country… "People going against Muslims or Kashmiris - we don't want this. We want peace and only peace," Ms Narwal told reporters at a blood donation camp held by the family on what would have been her husband's 27th birthday. "Of course, we want justice. The people who have wronged him should be punished," she added. It was her first public statement since a video of her bidding an emotional farewell over her husband's coffin went viral.” Read more: Nikita Yadav, BBC
“When Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Hemant Soren took the oath of office for the fourth time as Chief Minister of Jharkhand on November 28, 2024, there was a view that communal clashes, whose frequency had risen in the State over the previous couple of years, would come to a halt. After all, this was the second Assembly election in a row that Soren had won, defeating the BJP. Five months into Soren’s fresh term as Chief Minister, recurring communal clashes have cast serious doubts on the strength of Jharkhand’s secular fabric deeply rooted in the State’s history of long-standing coexistence among tribals, Sadans, Muslims, and Hindi-speaking settlers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, whose shared cultural traditions and mutual respect have sustained communal harmony for decades… The mandate in 2024 clearly favoured the INDIA bloc led by Soren in Jharkhand. It won 56 of the 81 Assembly seats: the JMM got 34; the Congress, 16; the Rashtriya Janata Dal, 4; and Left parties, 2. For the first time since Jharkhand became a separate State, the JMM won power for a second straight term on the support of tribal voters, Muslims, and Christians. The election result seemed to be a resounding rebuff to the BJP’s acrimonious campaign, which harped on “Bangladeshi Muslim infiltration undermining tribal interests”. In particular, the Congress’ Irfan Ansari’s defeat of Shibu Soren’s eldest daughter-in-law, Sita Soren, who contested as a BJP candidate from Jamtara, by over 43,000 votes seemed to indicate that the politics of polarisation had fallen flat.” Read more: Anand Mishra, Frontline
“Public sector lender Union Bank of India is in a bind over the eye-popping largesse it showered on a book ahead of its publication last year, when it decided to purchase nearly two lakh copies at a cost of ₹7.25 crore, to distribute among "customers/local schools/colleges/library, etc." The book that so moved the lender's management as to merit this massive order was India@100: Envisioning Tomorrow's Economic Powerhouse, by Krishnamurthy V Subramanian, India's former chief economic adviser (CEA). Subramanian subsequently served as India's nominee executive director at the International Monetary Fund, till the government prematurely terminated his tenure last week… Except for a few bestselling authors, books in English language sell so little in India that a title with sales surpassing 10,000 copies is deemed a bestseller… "With the news item of alleged impropriety over promotion of the book purchased by the bank... it has become the responsibility of the bank to ascertain how far the authority who has approved the expenditure for purchase of books has colluded in promoting the alleged impropriety to damage the bank and its image," N Shankar, general secretary of the All India Union Bank Employees' Association, said in the letter.” Read more: Sruthijith KK and Sangita Mehta, Economic Times
Tech -
“India has just made it harder for Starlink to enter the market. Around two months after Starlink announced retail partnerships with the country’s leading telecom operators, India — home to the world’s second-largest internet user base — introduced a new set of rules that satellite internet providers must comply with for permission to operate. The 29-point directive issued on May 5 mandates that companies provide real-time location tracking, data localization, metadata sharing, and website blocking as well as set up surveillance zones near borders. The new rules come in the wake of a surge in tensions between India and neighboring Pakistan. The rules will affect existing license holders, like Indian telecom giants Airtel and Jio, as well as those awaiting regulatory approvals, like Amazon’s Project Kuiper and Elon Musk’s Starlink.” Read more: Ananya Bhattacharya, Rest of World
“The ISRO conducted its mock dogfight between two satellites just months after the US called attention to some Chinese satellites doing the same. The reports show that the satellites used in this exercise are the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) satellites. Satellite dogfighting seems to be becoming a new trend in the space industry, as the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) participates in it. On 4 May 2025, Deccan Herald reported that two SpaDeX satellites operated by the ISRO engaged in a space satellite dogfight. The satellites in question are the SDX01 and the SDX02, with the first being the chaser and the second being the target. Both satellites engaged in close-quarter orbital manoeuvres at speeds reaching 28,800 km-h. This autonomous satellite operation has its uses during warfare, where one satellite can attack another or defend itself from similar attacks.” Read more: Orbital Today
“In February 2024, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) refused to let the European Investment Bank (EIB) transfer contact data to India. The EU’s independent data protection agency didn’t find enough “evidence and proof” that India could protect personal data the way the GDPR requires. “We denied this authorisation because there was not enough evidence and proof that these countries could protect individuals’ personal data in the same way as in the EU,” the EDPS noted in its 2024 annual report… India passed the DPDPA in August 2023 after years of deliberation. The law introduced consent requirements and gave users the right to access and erase their data. But when it comes to international transfers, the law doesn’t match the EU’s standards… While India is still finalising how to implement its data law, the EU is getting ready to raise the bar. Its 2025 GDPR reform package includes stricter rules around AI profiling, better transparency for data exports, and tougher documentation requirements. The EU isn’t just writing rules; it’s enforcing them. The regulators fined Meta €1.3 billion in 2023 for sending user data to the US under outdated contracts… The EDPS’s rejection makes one thing clear: India’s current data privacy law doesn’t offer the kind of system the EU trusts. And until that changes, India will remain outside the list of countries that European institutions can freely share data with. This isn’t just a setback for regulators; it’s a roadblock for Indian companies hoping to handle EU user data or win contracts with European partners.” Read more: Aakriti Bansal, Medianama